SIRĀT New Trailer: Oliver Laxe’s Jaw-Dropping Desert Thriller Arrives in February

Following its week-long theatrical engagement last fall, Oliver Laxe’s jaw-dropping thriller Sirāt is returning to the stateside market for a wider official release. Having won the Jury Prize at Cannes and shocking audiences and critics alike on the fall festival circuit, the film has been shortlisted in 5 categories for the 98th Academy Awards: Best International Feature (Spain), Best Cinematography by Mauro Herce, Best Original Score by Kanding Ray (read our interview with him HERE), Best Sound, and Best Casting. It is also up for two Golden Globes: Best Non-English Language Motion Picture and Best Score.

Sirāt stars Sergi López (Pan’s Labyrinth) as a father on a search for his daughter in the Moroccan desert rave scene with his young son in tow. When he joins a group of international ravers on his search deeper in the desert, their journey becomes more perilous across the distance. It also stars Bruno Núñez Arjona, Richard Bellamy, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Henderson, Tonin Janvier, and Jade Oukid. NEON will release the film in NY and LA on February 6, before expanding to further cities.

Editor-at-large Matt Delman said in his NYFF review, “If ‘audible gasp’ were a movie, it would be director Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt …. Music is one of the few things that has the power to bind us globally, and it’s interesting to see commenters exploring the universality of its themes even if set in a far-off land. Plus, you can have your own personal rave in the cinema and nobody will complain. This one must be experienced on the big screen with a crowd. I know we say it all the time, but this time we really mean it. If you’ve gotten to the end of this review, you already know too much. Much like the sandstorms in the Moroccan deserts of Sirât, it’s best to go in blind.”

As the official synopsis reads:

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.

Check out the new trailer below.

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