The arid plains might soon give way to something far more verdant for “ Sirat ” director Oliver Laxe , who is looking to the rainforest for inspiration.

“I’m very drawn to the Amazon,” he tells Variety , pointing to “the ceremonies, the soul of the place, its rituals and its medicines” as elements he hopes to explore next. But before he starts writing, Laxe will need to pack his bags. “I need to experience it,” he explains. “I don’t turn reality into film from a distance; it has to be lived. It has to be felt.”

For now, he’ll have to wait, as he’s currently deep into an awards campaign that has taken him all the way to the Marrakech Film Festival . Still, Laxe’s brief stay in Marrakech feels like something of a homecoming for a filmmaker who lived in Morocco for more than a decad

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