Sirât

In his contender for the Palme d’Or, Spanish director Oliver Laxe takes us to the Moroccan desert, even as the title suggests a bridge between Hell and Paradise. Amid the twitching limbs and ecstatic faces of dancers at a rave, a man who looks distinctly out of place (Sergi López) hands out flyers, asking if anyone has seen his daughter. Together with his son and their dog, he has come a long way in hopes of finding her. When the military breaks up the gathering – citing a state of emergency and rounding up foreigners – a group of European expats manage to escape, and the father-son duo decide to follow them.

Sirāt is one of those rare films that evade classical categorisation – likely to be either loved or hated, but undeniably impactful. From the moment the camera lingers on lined, battle-scarred faces moving to rhythms felt in the body rather than heard in any conscious way, one is mesmerised by the transcendent experience. With a sound design that captures the thumping bass of diegetic music and an emphatic off-screen electronic score, the atmosphere becomes almost palpable – even for those who’ve never set foot in such a space. And this is only the point of departure. As the feature transforms into a road movie, traversing unforgiving mountain ravines and man-made danger zones, it becomes a masterclass in sustained anticipation. There are moments so genuinely shocking they startled even seasoned festival-goers who have learned to expect the unexpected at Cannes.

Produced by Pedro Almodóvar, Sirāt is already being positioned as a potential contender for Spain’s 2026 Oscar entry. Its distinguished craftsmanship is matched by the potency of its political and sociocritical commentary, resulting in a film that may not be easy to digest – but is all the more nourishing for it.

Selina Sondermann

Sirât is released nationwide on 27^th February 2026.

Watch the trailer for Sirât here: