The Scene Drift

Filmmaking has always been a medium for exploring the human condition, but for director Oliver Laxe, cinema is deeply intertwined with spiritual survival. Sitting down for an in-depth conversation at the 22nd Marrakech Film Festival, Laxe opened up about the philosophical weight of his latest feature, Sirat, examining how art, loss, and mortality shape our journey through life.

     

The Meaning of the Path

When discussing the title of the film and its resonance, Laxe connected the project directly to rich theological and mystical traditions. Rooted in cultural expressions that view existence as a continuous journey from the divine and back to the divine, the title evokes the search for a righteous path.

"Life is a test, you know, to improve yourself in order to transcend yourself when you will die," Laxe explained. He noted that the cinematic practice is fundamentally about questioning how we die and whether our values surpass our egos. "The question is, how do you die? If he was dying with dignity or not? If his soul could transcend or not? If the values were over the ego? This is the question, and I think Sirat is about this."

Embracing the Wound and the Leap

A central philosophy behind Sirat is how human beings cope with inevitable loss and suffering. Laxe views artistic creation as a way to connect with the deep, collective wounds carried by humanity, emphasizing that creators must embrace uncertainty and the possibility of failure.

"To be free, to be emancipated as a human being, is to accept that you are not free... that you are losing all the time," Laxe reflected. Rather than resisting the harsh realities of existence, he believes that art must embrace the pain of the world. "I think Sirat is a film that is connected with the wound, with the wound of the world."

Trusting the Ontology of Cinema

When discussing his distinct approach to directing non-professional actors and shooting in unpredictable landscapes like the desert, Laxe emphasized a philosophy of radical trust in the cinematic image. Rather than imposing rigid control, he believes in letting the environment test the characters and suspending rational perception.

"The way I work is to suspend the level, the rational level of perception," Laxe noted, comparing the sensory experience to a form of therapeutic release. "You try to suspend this pirate radio that takes too much place in order that other level of perception emerge."

Sirat is currently screening at the Marrakech Film Festival.