Oliver Laxe's 'Sirāt' Premieres at Cannes 2025, a Techno-Fueled Mystical Journey

Oliver Laxe's film 'Sirāt' premiered in competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, presenting a powerful and disorienting narrative that begins with a rave and transforms into a mystical journey through the Moroccan desert. The film follows a father searching for his daughter, accompanied by his young son and dog, as they travel with a group of outcasts. The soundtrack, composed by French DJ Kangding Ray, shifts from techno to silence punctuated by bomb sounds. Laxe, who won the Un Certain Regard jury prize in 2019 for 'Viendra le Feu', described the film to Variety as a popular work aimed at young audiences, citing influences from Bresson and Tarkovsky as well as 1970s American cinema. The film's title references an Islamic tradition: 'Sirat is the bridge between paradise and hell, thin as a hair and sharp as a blade.' Cinematic references include 'Mad Max', David Lynch's 'Lost Highway', William Friedkin's 'The Exorcist', Michelangelo Antonioni's 'Zabriskie Point', Gus Van Sant's 'Gerry', and Chloé Zhao's 'Nomadland'. The ravers in the film are real-life ravers, not professional actors.