Ep1211: Through the Tunnel of Shadows: An Interview with Sirat Director Oliver Laxe

Ian sits down with director Oliver Laxe, whose 2025 film Sirat will compete for Best International Feature at next weekend's Academy Awards!

In this harrowing story of grief, desperation, and alternative cultures, a father (Sergi López) attends a rave in the Moroccan desert to find his missing daughter. He has his young son (Bruno Núñez Arjona) in tow, and the pair wind up following a caravan of partiers deeper into the wilderness. There, they encounter tragedies beyond imagination, and face an existential crisis set to a cruel techno beat.

In this brief interview, Ian and Oliver talk about the co-writer/director's unconventional approach to screenwriting; shooting dangerous and complicated scenes in the desert; and how movies kill their audiences and bring them back from the dead!

Sirat opens in Chicago at the Music Box Theatre on Friday, March 6 (featuring a Q&A with Oliver and co-writer Santiago Fillol!). More info below.

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Show Links

• Watch the Sirat (2025) trailer.

• Chicagoans! Sirat director Oliver Laxe and co-writer Santiago Fillol will be at the Music Box Theatre on Friday night! Catch the 7:15pm screening, and then stick around for a Q&A! Tickets and more information here.