French-born Spanish director Oliver Laxe has lived in Morocco for years, thus his unsurprising sensitivity and respect towards the spirit of the place, which emanates from every take of his second film. Set in the south, in a part of the country untouched by tourism, the picture describes a hypnotic odyssey undertaken by a curiously incongruous group of pilgrims transporting the body of a deceased sheikh to his native region. Awarded the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at Cannes, the piece is remotely reminiscent of a Western, yet its mysterious attraction lies in its deep-rooted connection with Sufism, a mystical dimension of Islam. “It’s exciting to be able to have motifs in your film that can’t be explained rationally,” says Laxe, who describes Mimosas as a “film-prayer,” a substantial part of which shouldn’t be perceived by applying logic. The filmmaker works masterfully with non-professional actors, whose fresh faces and unpredictable expressions and gestures heighten the effect on his rapt audience.