Catalan movies 'Sirât' and 'Romería' compete for Cannes' Palme d'Or award 

The Cannes Film Festival continues to be a stage where Catalan talent is represented, showcasing the region's diverse cinematic voices. This year, two particularly powerful entries, Oliver Laxe's 'Sirât' and Carla Simón's 'Romería' headline the Catalan presence on the red carpet of the Boulevard de la Croisette.  

Both films are competing for the Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film at the festival.  

Oliver Laxe's 'Sirât' 

Director Oliver Laxe returned to Cannes for the fourth time with 'Sirât,' a Catalan co-production which is his most radical film yet. Born in Paris to Galician parents, Laxe moved to Barcelona to study filmmaking at the Pompeu Fabra University. He brings a deeply personal and spiritual tone to the story of a father and son searching for a missing daughter at a rave in the Moroccan mountains.  

Starring renowned Catalan actor Sergi López, 'Sirât' contains an experimental techno soundtrack by musician Kangding Ray, creating a dark landscape using techno as its foundation.  

The title, signifying "path" in Arabic, holds a strong religious meaning in Islam. It refers to the inner journey that pushes a person to "die before dying" but it also refers to the bridge that connects hell to paradise. 

In an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN) in Cannes, Laxe said: "We have to walk this path, we have to prepare ourselves for death, and the characters in the film are on the edge of understanding that they are imperfect, questioning what they're capable of and how far they can leap." 

Actor Sergi López, born in Vilanova i la Geltrú, called the film "radical in every sense." For him, the core idea of 'Sirât' is the realization that sooner or later, life will strike you and death and pain are part of existence. 

Carla Simón's 'Romería' 

Another contender for the Palme d'Or is Carla Simón with her latest movie, 'Romería.' Following 'Estiu 1993' and 'Alcarràs,' Simón now brings the closing chapter of her autobiographical family trilogy to Cannes.  

Encouraged by her previous successes, Simón called this chapter "a film with many more risks" than her earlier works. The film is based on her biological mother's diary and the story reconstructs the life of her Galician paternal family.   

At the center of the narrative is Marina, a young woman adopted as a child who travels to Vigo to meet her biological father's family for the first time. Through encounters with these members, Marina (played by Llúcia Garcia Torras) attempts to piece together a fragmented past tainted by substance abuse.  

"I wanted to talk about this generation, my parents' generation, who grew up in a repressive, conservative society and then broke away from it," Simón explained to ACN. "But I wanted to do so without judgment or romanticism." 

Simón said the film demanded a different visual approach: "The camera asked for distance, so I mixed in footage that mimics home videos shot by an 18-year-old girl interested in cinema, looking for her own perspective." 

With this film, Simón closes her autobiographical cycle focused on family, though she notes that familial themes will likely return in her future work.  

A strong Catalan lineup 

Beyond 'Sirât' and 'Romería,' Catalonia's presence at Cannes this year is noticeable. 'Magellan,' produced by the Catalan-based Andergraun Films, explores the travels of a Portuguese explorer. Emerging talents shine through as well: directors Anna Martí Domingo and Laura Santos Martí present "Face of Grace", while filmmaker Carlo Padial debuts his genre-blending project "Who Knows?" 

Additionally, the Shortcat 2025 selection brings several powerful short films, all underscoring the diversity and innovation of Catalan filmmaking on the global stage.