When he was selected for the prestigious competition section this past April, Paris-born Spanish of Galician background filmmaker Óliver Laxe achieved a remarkable feat of having all four of his films in all sections of Cannes. His first three films premiered as such You All Are Captains (2010 – Directors’ Fortnight / FIPRESCI award winner), Mimosas (2016 – Critics’ Week / Nespresso Grand Prize winner), and the Jury Prize-winning Fire Will Come (2019 – Un Certain Regard) (read ★★★½ review).
The fourth film in competition, Sirat (also titled After) was shot in Spain and Morocco this past May, and stars Sergi López and Bruno Núñez among the mini ensemble. The film follows a father and son who travel to a remote rave in the stark, ghostly mountains of southern Morocco, searching for their missing daughter and sister—a young woman who vanished months earlier at a similar party. Guided by fate, they join a group of ravers on a journey to one final desert gathering, hoping to find her there. Laxe reunites with cinematographer Mauro Herce, shooting on 16mm for this evocative tale. Pedro Almodóvar is among the producers.
A late night screening world premiere was a very apropos time slot to present what might be the best graded film in Cannes this year. Laxe offered a pulsating piece of cinema and the critics are floored (lots happening on the desert floor here) with three folks on our panel have stamped this with a perfect 5.0 which (we can include Nicholas Bell among those who are convinced – read his review here). Of the sixteen critics we have average of 4.0.
Click on the grid below for a larger version and latest updates!
