Sirât directed by Óliver Laxe has been selected to represent Spain in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards (Oscar 2026).
The film made its world premiere earlier this year in the Main Competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize (Prix du Jury).
Sirât tells the story of Luis (Sergi López) and his son Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona), who travel to at a rave deep in the deserts of southern Morocco in search of their missing daughter and sister. They’re searching for Mar 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.
Also starring in the movie are Richard Bellamy, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam, Henderson Tonin, and Janvier Jade Oukid.
“Sirāt addresses the war that is looming large in our world, one in which we will be obliged to ask ourselves what it means to be human,” says Laxe. “As cultural walls and class distinctions erode, Luis – who hails from a different social context as the ravers he meets – discovers he is just as wounded and broken as his companions. But the ravers I have known, and the ravers that inspired and appear in this film, are already in dialogue with their wounds — Luis, for his part, must decide whether he’s ready to join this family of mutilated people.”
Sirât was selected by the Academia de Cine (Spanish Film Academy) from a shortlist of three films, which included Romería directed by Carla Simón and Sorda directed by Eva Libertad.
See the trailer for Sirāt, above.
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