How did a search for answers become a quest for survival? A father and son find themselves unexpectedly facing danger in “Sirāt.” The drama takes viewers on a fretful journey, full of heartbreak and sacrifice.
Winner of the 2025 Cannes Jury Prize and shortlisted in five categories for the 98th Academy Awards: Best International Feature (Spain), Best Original Score (Kangding Ray), Best Sound (production sound mixer Amanda Villavieja, supervising sound editor Laia Casanovas, re-recording mixer Yasmina Praderas), Best Casting (Nadia Acimi & Luis Bértolo), and Best Cinematography (Mauro Herce), the acclaimed film, which landed on our Best Films Of 2025 list is finally coming to theaters..
Director Oliver Laxe works with cinematographer Mauro Herce to craft an unforgettable aesthetic. The Playlist’s Gregory Ellwood noted their effective use of 16 mm film during his review. Ellwood said the film featured “perhaps the most beautiful images of vehicles crossing a desert since ‘Mad Max: Fury Road.”
The film’s cast includes Sergi López, Bruno Núñez Arjona, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Herderson, Richard Bigui Bellamy, Tonin Janvier, and Jade Oukid. López delivers a strong performance as Luis, a distraught father whose anguish intensifies as his situation becomes increasingly hopeless.
The film’s official synopsis:
A father (Sergi López) and his son arrive at a rave deep in the mountains of southern Morocco. They are searching for Mar — daughter and sister — who vanished months ago at one of these endless, sleepless parties. Surrounded by electronic music and a raw, unfamiliar sense of freedom, they hand out her photo again and again. Hope is fading, but they push through and follow a group of ravers heading to one last party in the desert. As they venture deeper into the burning wilderness, the journey forces them to confront their own limits.
Laxe, Domingo Corral, Xavi Font, Pedro Almodóvar, Augustín Almodóvar, Esther Garcia, Oriol Maymo, Mani Mortazavi, and Andrea Queralt serve as producers on “Sirāt.” The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on February 6. A nationwide rollout is also planned for February. Watch the new trailer below.
