Oliver Laxe

Born on 11 April 1982 in Paris, France, Óliver Laxe is the son of Galician emigrants whose love story began at a Bataclan dance party for expatriates. His early years were split between the multicultural streets of Paris and the rugged countryside of Galicia, where his family returned when he was six. Growing up in Vilela, Navia de Suarna, Lugo, Laxe absorbed the oral traditions and stark landscapes that would later permeate his cinema. After completing secondary school in A Coruña, he pursued formal training at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, studying filmmaking and honing a visual language that blends documentary realism with lyrical abstraction. A subsequent move to London allowed him to experiment with short form, culminating in his first short, Y las chimeneas decidieron escapar, which hinted at his fascination with escape and confinement. In his debut feature, You All Are Captains (2010), Laxe captured the fragile hope of Galician youth, earning the FIPRESCI Prize in Cannes' Directors' Fortnight and announcing him as a bold new voice in European cinema. His second film, Mimosas (2016), filmed in the Atlas Mountains, juxtaposed desert vastness with intimate human drama, winning the Nespresso Grand Prize at Critics' Week. Returning home, Fire Will Come (2019) explored fire, memory, and ecological decay, securing the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize, while his latest work, Sirāt (2025), earned the prestigious Jury Prize at Cannes, cementing his reputation for creating mythic narratives rooted in specific geographies. Beyond directing, Laxe has written and occasionally acted, collaborating closely with his brother Felipe, a producer, and costume designer Nadia Acimi. Since 2020 he resides in the family house Casa Quindós in Navia de Suarna, which also serves as the hub for the Ser Association, a cultural‑environmental initiative that reflects his commitment to rural revitalization and artistic activism.