After being approached by an investigative journalist, filmmaker Miguel Garay (Manolo Solo) is called upon to recount his memories of working on his final and still unfinished film, “The Farewell Gaze.” During its production, his lead actor and friend, Julio Arenas (José Coronado), vanished without a trace. Now, years later, he reconnects with the film’s crew and Julio’s daughter, seeking closure and understanding for what the disappearance meant to all their lives.
Over three decades after the release of his previous film, revered Spanish auteur Víctor Erice (The Spirit of the Beehive, El Sur) returns with CLOSE YOUR EYES, a “poignant cinematic swan song” (The Hollywood Reporter) that provides a “moving meditation on existence, memory, and cinema’s potential to preserve them both” (Vox).
“A moving ode to the power of memories – and the movies... For those of us who love the movies as a medium for connection, the climax is something close to bliss.” –Rolling Stone
DIRECTED BY VÍCTOR ERICE
SPAIN, ARGENTINA | 2023 | SPANISH, CATALAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Up Next in Toronto International Film Festival
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Under the Fig Trees
On a hot summer morning, a crew of workers arrive at a fig orchard in northwest Tunisia. Through sun-drenched leaves, the youngest of the women steal precious moments of respite away from the foreman’s watchful gaze. Meanwhile, the elders, tasked with the careful job of packing the tender fruit, ...
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Rafiki
Bursting with the colorful street style and music of Nairobi’s vibrant youth culture, RAFIKI is a tender love story between two young women in a country that still criminalizes homosexuality. Kena and Ziki have long been told that “good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives” – but they yearn for ...
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An Unfinished Film
In January 2020, director Xiaorui (Mao Xiaorui) reunites his cast and crew to complete a film that was abandoned during production ten years earlier. However, the team is suddenly placed into lockdown together during the onset of COVID-19. Confronted with the challenges of the pandemic, Xiaorui a...
