Oliver Laxe brings ‘Sirat’ to Cannes 2025 after extreme shoot

French-Spanish director Oliver Laxe will compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2025 with Sirat, a story of a father and son searching for their missing daughter at desert raves in Morocco. The film was shot under extreme conditions in Aragón and the Sahara.

“We’ve achieved something remarkable: being one of the few films in competition at this historic edition for Spanish cinema, alongside legendary filmmakers like Julia Ducournau, Richard Linklater, and the Dardenne brothers. We’re doing it with what I believe is my most accessible, commercial, and radical film yet. It’s been 15 years since my first time at Cannes; I’m deeply grateful to everyone who’s supported me,” Laxe said.

Sirat, directed and co-written with Santiago Fillol, follows a man (Sergi López) and his son (Bruno Núñez) who arrive at a rave in Morocco’s arid, ghostly southern mountains, searching for Mar, their daughter and sister, missing for months after attending such an event. Their journey leads them to follow ravers to a final desert party, hoping to find her.

The shoot was Laxe’s toughest yet, described as intense and epic, spanning Aragón (Teruel and Zaragoza) and Morocco, from freezing Aragonese nights to scorching Sahara summer heat. “It’s been my most challenging film, an extreme shoot in epic, beautiful Teruel locations. We went from sub-zero winter nights in Aragón to the Sahara’s summer heat. That disproportionate adventure behind the camera is in the film. Sirat is intense, dizzying, with the landscape’s sharp mineral edge leaving no viewer unmoved,” Laxe recalled.

Produced by Movistar Plus+, El Deseo, Filmes da Ermida, Uri Films, and 4A4 Productions, with Bteam Pictures distributing in Spain (release: June 6) and The Match Factory handling international sales, Sirat may draw from the Islamic concept of “the straight path,” reflecting Laxe’s recurring exploration of material and transcendental tensions.

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