Sirat

From writer-director Oliver Laxe comes an explosive and transformative descent into the Moroccan desert, where a Spanish single father Luis (Sergi López) and his young son Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona) infiltrate an underground rave scene in search of a missing girl in her early 20s: Mar — their 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 a remote gathering takes shape in Southern Morocco — set to the pulsating music of Berlin-based techno producer, composer and DJ Kangding Ray — an unnamed crisis between warring countries erupts on the periphery, sending the Spaniards and a caravan of hardcore ravers, played by non-professionals cast from Europe’s vibrant Free Party Movement, deeper into the Sahara desert, where they are confronted with mystery, madness — and a taste of the end of the world.

Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Sirāt marks the international breakout of an uncompromising visionary whose latest work taps into the tumultuous and terrifying times we are living through. A hero’s journey turned inward, exploring themes of the individual versus the collective during times of unbearable tension and turmoil, Sirāt embraces transcendence, offering hope, connection and perseverance amid our shattering darkness.

Free admission! Sponsored by the Department of Romance Studies.

Part of "Cinematic Cities" in our "Campus Collaborations" series. In Spanish and French with English subtitles. Courtesy of NEON.