Awards History

All the previous CFF winners

Each year, the Cambridge Film Festival presents several Audience and Jury awards.

Since 2019, the Festival has also presented the Youth Lab Jury Award and the Cambridge Film Festival Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award.

Cambridge Film Festival Outstanding Contribution Award

  • 2026 - Clio Barnard - Director

  • 2025 - No award

  • 2024 - Daniel Kaluuya - Actor and Screenwriter

  • 2023 - Asif Kapadia - Director and Documentarian

  • 2022 - Emma Thompson - Actor and Screenwriter

  • 2020 - No award

  • 2019 - Tony Jones - Cambridge Film Festival Director

Golden Punt Award for Best Discovery Feature

  • 2026 - I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming by Isabelle Stever

  • 2025 - Sleepless City (Ciudad sin sueño) by Guillermo Galoe

  • 2024 - Nebelkind - The End of Silence by Tereza Kotyk

Audience Award - Best Fiction Feature

  • 2026 - Harsh Land, Distant Sky by Hawraz Mohammed

  • 2025 - Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day by Ivona Juka

  • 2024 - Nebelkind - The End of Silence by Tereza Kotyk

  • 2023 - Creatura by Elena Martín Gimeno

  • 2022 - Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be by Amandine Fredon & Benjamin Massoubre

  • 2021 - Coppelia by Jeff Tudor, Steven De Beul & Ben Tesseur

  • 2020 - No award

  • 2019 - Castle of Dreams by Reza Mirkarimi

  • 2018 - Shoplifters by Hirokazu Kore-eda

  • 2017 - The Net by Kim Ki-duk

  • 2016 - Chocolat by Roschdy Zem

  • 2015 - Bill by Richard Bracewell

  • 2014 - Monica Z by Per Fly

  • 2013 - The Forgotten Kingdom by Andrew Mudge

  • 2012 - War Witch (Rebelle) - Kim Nguyen

Audience Award - Best Documentary Feature

  • 2026 - Artists in Residence by Katie Jacobs

  • 2025 - Shades of Survival by David Ayeni

  • 2024 - The Cigarette Surfboard by Ben Judkins

  • 2023 - Pure Clean Water by Tony Eva

  • 2022 - Seaside Special by Jens Meurer

  • 2021 - Film, The Living Record of Our Memory by Inés Toharia

  • 2020 - No award

  • 2019 - Streetkids United III by Jacco Groen

  • 2018 - Letter from Masanjia by Leon Lee

  • 2017 - Operation Syncopation - Maxim Thompson

  • 2016 - Future Baby by Maria Arlamovsky

  • 2015 - Streetkids United II: The Girls From Rio by Maria Clara Costa

  • 2014 - A Poem In Exile by Alba Gómez

  • 2013 - Black Africa, White Marble by Clemente Bicocchi

  • 2012 - Big Boys Gone Bananas! by Fredrik Gertten

Audience Award - Best Short Film

  • 2026 - Uncle Artoo by Zoë Whittaker

  • 2025 - Monsters by Andy Field & Beckie Darlington

  • 2024 - Magic Candies by Daisuke NISHIO

  • 2023 - The Snip by Ben S. Hyland

  • 2022 - Till the Music Stops by Emilie De Monsabert

  • 2021 - Georgia by Jayil Pak

  • 2020 - No award

  • 2019 - Alina by Rami Kodeih

  • 2018 - Bogdan and Rose (Bogdan i Róża) - Milena Dutkowska

  • 2017 - Meal Time by Tiffany Wei

  • 2016 - Speechless by Robin Polák

  • 2015 - Group B by Nick Rowland

  • 2014 - The Showreel by Keir Burrows

  • 2013 - Rhino Full Throttle by Erik Schmitt

  • 2012 - Dylan's Room by Layke Anderson

CFF Youth Lab Jury Award

  • 2026 - TBC

  • 2025 - The Fisherman by Zoey Martinson

  • 2024 - Silent Trees by Agnieszka Zwiefka

  • 2023 - Fledglings by Lidia Duda

  • 2022 - Pushing Boundaries by Lesia Kordonets

  • 2021 - Nico by Eline Gehring

  • 2019 - County Lines by Henry Blake

Older Awards (as "People's Favourite Film")

  • 2007 - Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way of the Tosser by April Mullen and Tim Doiron

  • 2007 - Best Short Film - The End of the Party by Sebastian Godwin

  • 2006 - Volver by Pedro Almodóvar

  • 2006 - Best Short Film - Waiting/Hoping by Mike Flores

  • 2005 - Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch

  • 2004 - Stage Beauty by Richard Eyre

  • 2004 - Best Short Film - Wasp by Andrea Arnold

  • 2003 - Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki