It “blew up” the Croisette back in May, landed the Jury Prize, was tops on our Cannes Critics’ Panel grid and this might be the best film of 2025. With the odd omission of a Telluride playdate, Óliver Laxe‘s Sirāt wrapped up TIFF showcase and will be next be visiting San Sebastián, New York Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival with today’s news that it has been selected as Spain’s Oscar submission in Best Intl. Feature Film Category. With plenty of forward momentum, the NEON folks have many horses in the race and will likely add another title in the Palme d’Or winning It Was Just an Accident — we await France’s selection committee confirmation. Update: France just selected Jafar Panahi’s film.
In our ★★★★½ review for the near-perfect fourth feature, our Nicholas Bell highlights the “layered, almost kaleidoscopic metaphors evolve through religious and politically minded themes, and the end result feels like a Gaspar Noe adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.”
The Spanish-language trauma-drama will open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on November 14th for a one-week qualifying engagement before a nationwide rollout in January.
