Review: Sirât at Genre Gems
Synopsis
Luis is traveling through southern Morocco with his son, Esteban. They’re searching for his daughter, who has been missing for five months, last seen at a dance festival in the desert. As the pair travel from party to party, they hear of a semi-mythical rave near the border of Mauritania. Descending into the scorched terrain as a not-so-distant global conflict encroaches, Luis and Esteban are soon drawn into a primal landscape in which they must walk a tightrope between heaven and hell.
The opening text for the film describes the Sirât bridge, a mythic Islamic concept of the bridge between heaven and hell that is “thin as a strand of hair and sharp as a sword”. This metaphoric bridge is exactly what Luis, his son Esteban navigate as they join group of outsiders who go from desert rave to desert rave. Luis’ desperate hope to find his daughter propels him, and his fellow travellers to take unfathamable risks as they head into the perilous Moroccan desert landscape to evade authorities in a conflict or uprising that seems to constantly looms just outside the frame.
The film is well paced, often with back-to-back gut wrenching sequences balanced with beautiful primal landscapes. The ravers are well cast, almost like the crew captured scenes at an actual rave in the desert. The cinematography is exquisite.
Sirat is an unforgettable experience in tension set to a deafening EDM soundtrack.
Thanks to the Genre Gems Film Festival for programming it and bringing this film to an Ottawa audience during its inaugural year.
Genre Gems is a five-day film festival that showcases the very best in genre cinema. The festival aims to provide a counter-cultural slate of standout discoveries for fans of adventurous, boundary-pushing filmmaking. From horror films to science fiction, the carefully curated programme spotlights hot festival titles from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Fantasia, Locarno, and TIFF for their prestigious Ottawa premieres. More information on the festival website.
Jith Paul
Web Designer, Editor, Film Reviewer
Jith Paul is an independent filmmaker based in Ottawa. While pursuing a career as a software engineer, he decided to take a detour to follow his passion for film and filmmaking, establishing Treepot Media in 2010.
He is a co-founder of the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival, and editor of the film613 blog.
When he is not busy fighting crime, he coordinates the efforts of an international team of software developers and service providers as the Team Lead for Digital Development at CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel.
Follow Jith on letterboxd. More at jithpaul.com
He is a co-founder of the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival, and editor of the film613 blog.
When he is not busy fighting crime, he coordinates the efforts of an international team of software developers and service providers as the Team Lead for Digital Development at CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel.
Follow Jith on letterboxd. More at jithpaul.com
