Cannes Jury Prize Winner 'Sirāt' Draws Strong Notices Ahead of U.S. Qualifying Runs

Overview

• NEON begins one-week awards-qualifying engagements in New York and Los Angeles on Nov. 14, with a wider U.S. rollout planned for January.
• 'Sirāt' is Spain’s official Oscar submission after winning the Jury Prize at Cannes earlier this year.
• The film opens with a techno-driven, documentary-like desert rave in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains that establishes a ritualistic, anarchic mood.
• The narrative follows a father and his 12-year-old son searching for a missing teen as a sudden military shutdown redirects the story into a tense caravan road journey.
• Non-professional performers appear under their own names as Mauro Herce’s cinematography and Cristóbal Fernández’s cutting lock to Kangding Ray’s techno score, with the review praising the mood-driven approach and noting an ending likely to stir discussion.