The film is the second part of Carlos Saura's "Flamenco Trilogy". The first was Blood Wedding (1981) whilst the third was El amor brujo (1986).
The film is a "free adaptation" of two "Carmen" works, Georges Bizet's opera and Prosper Mérimée's novella.
The film was entered into competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983 and was nominated for the Palme D'Or but it did not win. But there the picture did win two awards, it won the Technical Grand Prize (Grand Prix of the C.S.T.) and the Award for Best Artistic Contribution.
The picture was nominated for the Best Foreign Film in a number of award systems including the Cesars (French Oscars), the Golden Globes and the Oscars (Academy Awards) but did not win any of these but was successful in winning the BAFTA for Best Foreign Film.
One of three films with the name "Carmen" in the title which were released around 1983-1984. The other two films were Francesco Rosi's Carmen (1984) and Jean-Luc Godard's First Name: Carmen (1983).