Víctor Erice had a public falling-out with Thierry Frémaux, the artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival, after Cerrar los ojos (2023) failed to be selected for the Official Competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The film was instead placed in the Cannes Première sidebar. Erice had submitted an in-progress version of the film to Cannes in March 2023, followed by a further version with the final colour grading and sound mixes, and had requested that Frémaux inform him in advance whether the film would be in the Official Competition so that, in the event that it was not, Erice could take the film to another festival such as Venice or Locarno. Erice stated that there was no communication from Frémaux to him as he had requested and that he discovered the film had been selected for the Cannes Première section when the Festival's lineup was announced on 13 April. Erice did not attend the Cannes screening of the film. Erice's previous two feature films, El sur (1983) and El sol del membrillo (1992), had played in the Official Competition at Cannes, with Dream of Light winning the Jury prize.