In unison, director Óliver Laxe & composer Kandang Ray have created one of the most intense and heart racing cinematic experiences in recent years with their Cannes award winning film Sirāt (winning the Jury Prize). Playing out like a modern version of Wages of Fear with a missing daughter and a rave in the desert supplanting that films explosive cargo, Sirāt is as intense as experience as any other that follows Luis (Sergi López) and his son Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona) as they ask a swathe of desert ravers where their family member is. Óliver throws viewers into the fray from the first frame, utilising Kandang Ray's thumping electronic music to provide a sonic backbone to the anxiety provoking experience. That's a tone that never lets up throughout the films 114 minute runtime, ensuring that by the time credits role you'll be pushing down an oncoming panic attack.
For some, that sensory experience of tension driven filmmaking isn't exactly fitting with the idea of a 'good time at the movies', but Sirāt isn't a film that intends to make you feel good. Instead, Laxe is looking to expand upon the current state of the world, leaving just enough space for the viewer to draw their own meaning from the metaphor that Laxe and Kandang Ray are spinning.
In the following interviews, Nadine Whitney talks to director Óliver Laxe about the landscape and use of music in the film, while in the second interview, Andrew F Peirce talks to composer Kandang Ray about building that sonic profile for the film. Both interviews were recorded ahead of the film receiving two nominations at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, picking up noms for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Score.
Sirāt arrives at Perth Festival's Lotterywest Films from 19 January to 25 January 2026. It will receive a wider release thanks to Madman Entertainment from 26 February 2026.
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