Mar 02, 2026
3 min read
The sound atmosphere of Oliver Laxé's film is provided by Spanish and Hollywood award nominees Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas.
It looks like Goya and Oscar: the creators of the "Cirat" sound mark a new milestone in Spanish cinema
Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas, named after the Spanish and Hollywood awards, are responsible for the soundtrack of Oliver Lax's film.
"Sirate" is a moment where the sound is necessary to understand what will happen next, a sad rush of emotion that leaves the viewer slouching in his chair after a series of wild systole and diastole that shock him into confusion.This happens almost in the middle of the film, when Sergi López's car just falls off the cliff that started at the turning point.quest film.Of course, because of this audio narration and everything else that creates the film's surround sound, Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas will be at the Goya Awards this Saturday and at the Oscars on March 15, after winning the Gaudí Award for Best Sound Direction.
Continuing this exciting action, which takes place in the middle of the dry and dusty mountains of the south of Morocco, there is a moment when the car disappears, but the voice blindly gives all the information about its whereabouts that cannot be recovered.film in Mexico, said that this time is important because it is also before and after the level of listening.
In Sirât, which has received eleven Goya nominations, the sound has been implemented as the most important narrative element. When it was proposed, continues Amanda Villavieja, the aim was to improve the dialogue in the first part, where the audience is expected to guess more, but from the second everything becomes emotional. To achieve this, reduce the noise of the words, but increase the bass, the explosion of the wheel of electronic music, the explosion of the sound engine, the worldor mine explosions.
This whole mix, played through speakers, created by Yasmina Praderas (Huesca, 44 years old), enhanced with Dolby Atmos technology, which gives a very good explanation to one of the productions that is often overlooked."We try to entertain the community and even understand that it is possible to teach through good explanations without discussion."He is also happy that "the voice is recognized in this way".
Obviously, the music is the main element of this atmosphere, a work dedicated to this story by the Frenchman David Letellier, alias Kangding Ray, who in May won the prize for the best original music at the Cannes festival, where the film was also awarded the jury prize.Always from techno, the music is presented not only as an environmental support, which is important when the rave happens, but as part of the film's nervous system, and turns towards something more narrative at key moments such as when the first bomb explodes, where quarter-note drums reinforce the explosion.The result is despair.
Laia Casanovas (Granollers, 35 years old) is responsible for the design of this type of sound, who remembers that Sirât managed to get many viewers to see it in the cinema.Last weekend it exceeded three million kuna in revenue.the "feeling of immersion" in the story, clarified, thanks to the emission of sound in a more detailed way from any point, also from the back and the ceiling, except from the screen and from the side, where the sound usually comes out.
Women in charge
Nowadays, all eyes are on these three women, who stand out in a world still dominated by masculinity.They do not deny that this is the case, and it seems necessary to add that they are women, but first let's talk about them in a professional capacity."We must never refer to gender in the first place. But to claim professionalism", asks Yasmina Praderas, who fled "quota conflicts", asks Amanda Villavieja, who has worked with Jose Luis Guérin and Inaki. Lacuesta added: "Sound work is very complex. You have to fight a lot and being a woman is stillmore."So she's grateful that her gender is highlighted."Tear the roof down now."
The important event is twofold, because in addition to the nomination of the Oscars for the best international film, Sirât has received the nomination of his best director, the first time this happened in a Spanish film.Laia Casanovas, who worked with her studio Lima Limón in Creature by Elena Martín, or La Furia by Gemma Blasco, admits that she is not sure if "the first or the second is more important", but she notes two checks in the history of Spanish cinema and these can be an indication of women who are already in this sector or who want to work in this sector.
He was the person who reached the most in the United States during the last two months of the campaign."The Oscar campaign is more intense," he admits, after spending three weeks in January and another three weeks in February, attending film screenings and question-and-answer sessions where people from the industry are interested in his work.He said it was a very interesting exercise because of the contacts he was able to make and what he discovered in the Hollywood industry.It is also represented by many trade unions and industry-related associations.
If in other areas of the profession, being nominated for or winning one of these coveted statuettes ipso facto increases the power of professionals, these three experts do not yet dare to say that this will also happen in their case.While they don't hide the fact that this has allowed them to open their doors, they say it's too early to know how it will impact their bottom line.In the case of Oscar-nominated films, this happens, "but they tend to come out of the American industry; with the Spanish industry there is still no precedent," says Laia Casanovas.
As they worked, they didn't think Sirat would leave such a mark, but they were proud of the sound they achieved when they finished it."Our goal is to build a beautiful world that matches as best as possible what the direction wants to express," said Laia Casanovas, while Yasmina Praderas, who has already won a Goa with Ace Bestos by Rodrigo Sargoyan, added that "I'm very happy with the result, The effort is great, but I don't think where it comes from."For her part, Amanda Villavieza remembers that "it's a very open job," especially during filming, "a work in progress where the unexpected can happen."
Although the selection has its three names and they are the ones who entered history, it is also true that the sound of the film is a team effort involving many professionals.Running the numbers quickly, they say there are at least a dozen professionals involved in the most successful, but sometimes thunderous, business.The sequence of the car, which was in one of the lonely and difficult valleys of the Atlas, is another important moment for the audio team, which, like Sirat, started on a good path.
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