Audience Awards 2026
And the winner is...
CFF45 Award Winners: Celebrating the Best of the 45th Cambridge Film Festival
After eleven wonderful days of cinema, we're delighted to announce the award winners from the 45th Cambridge Film Festival!
From remarkable international discoveries to films that captured the hearts of our Cambridge audience, this year's winners reflect the extraordinary range of stories and filmmaking talent that made CFF45 so special.
With our Golden Punt Jury Award and three Audience Awards now decided, we're thrilled to celebrate the filmmakers whose work stood out at this year's Festival.
And there's still one more award to come, as our Youth Lab Jury are currently deliberating over their choice for 2026!
Golden Punt Jury Award: Best Discovery Feature
I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING
Directed by Isabelle Stever
Selected by our Golden Punt Jury, which this year was made up of Lead Film Critic at The i Paper, Francesca Steele; scholar of Russian and Soviet film and a professor at the University of Cambridge, Emma Widdis; and Professor of Film and Feminist Media Studies at Anglia Ruskin University, Tanya Horeck. The award celebrates exceptional filmmaking and distinctive voices in international cinema, recognising films that open our eyes to new perspectives.
The Jury deliberated long and hard* and eventually had this to say about their chosen winner:
"I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming is a work of remarkable cinematic ambition, political courage and artistic restraint. By interweaving the complexities of conscription, war, gender identity and family, the film consistently resists easy answers or ideological certainties. It invites audiences instead into an intensely human story whose complexity lies precisely in the refusal of simple solutions. In a world where all belief systems are in crisis, whatever those beliefs may be, the film challenges the values we hold and exposes the assumptions that shape how we relate to those around us. Bold and deeply humane, I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming embodies discovery on a scale that stretches from the realities of war to the most intimate conflicts of identity."
Stever's deeply moving drama follows Oleh and Olya, a young queer Ukrainian couple whose lives are shattered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As Oleh's gender transition collides with the expectations of wartime masculinity, their relationship becomes an intimate exploration of love and identity in a country at war.
Balancing moments of tenderness with the urgency and uncertainty of conflict, I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING offers a sensitive portrait of two people navigating extraordinary circumstances.
Presented as a UK premiere in our Reframe strand, the film is a remarkable example of the thought-provoking filmmaking that the Golden Punt Award seeks to recognise.
* For the first time in the awards' history, the Jury also chose to award an Honourable Mention to The Beauty of the Donkey from director Dea Gjinovci. A film that combines joyful biography with painful investigation as political activist Asslan returns to his village in Kosova with his daughter, Dea, to retrace his past.
Best Fiction Feature
HARSH LAND, DISTANT SKY: Directed by Hawraz Mohammed
We are thrilled to announce that HARSH LAND, DISTANT SKY, the debut feature from Kurdish director and author Hawraz Mohammed, has won the Audience Award for Best Fiction Feature.
Set against the lasting scars of the Kurdish Civil War, the film follows Harun, a veteran struggling with post-traumatic stress and an overwhelming burden of guilt.
Seeking absolution, Harun travels to a remote village on the borders of Iran, Iraq and Turkey, where he hopes that confessing his darkest secrets to a traditional Kurdish tattooist might help him find peace.
Exploring the devastating psychological consequences of conflict, HARSH LAND, DISTANT SKY is an affecting portrait of a man confronting a war that continues long after the fighting has ended.
An international premiere at CFF45, the film clearly struck a chord with our audience.
Best Documentary Feature
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: Directed by Katie Jacobs
This year's Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature goes to ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE, directed by Katie Jacobs.
A wonderful celebration of creativity, friendship, and the communities that sustain us, the documentary introduces three remarkable women whose lives and artistic careers have been intertwined with New York's art scene since the 1950s.
When Jacobs moved into a building at 30 East 2nd Street in 2017, she encountered three women who would become the heart of her film: Lois Dodd, Louise Kruger and Eleanor Magid.
Now in their nineties, the women reflect on their lives as artists, mothers and friends, sharing memories of the challenges and joys of building creative lives together.
A UK premiere at CFF45, ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE is an inspiring portrait of resilience and independence, and it is a particular joy to see our audience embrace a documentary that celebrates the often overlooked creativity and experiences of older women.
Best Short Film
UNCLE ARTOO: Directed by Zoë Whittaker
And our final Audience Award for Best Short Film goes to UNCLE ARTOO, directed by Zoë Whittaker!
One of the great pleasures of our Short Fusion programme is seeing just how much imagination and storytelling filmmakers can pack into a few minutes, and this year's winner certainly has an unusual premise.
What happens when one of cinema's most recognisable vampires decides to take on an entirely unexpected role?
In his later years, Nosferatu has become a foster carer for children. What could possibly go wrong?
Screened as part of our Shorts: The Ties That Bind programme, UNCLE ARTOO takes a familiar horror figure into wonderfully unexpected territory, proving that even the most unlikely characters can find themselves in new roles.
Outstanding Contribution to Cinema
This year, we were also delighted to honour acclaimed British filmmaker Clio Barnard with the Cambridge Film Festival Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award.
One of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British filmmaking, Barnard's work is celebrated for its thoughtful exploration of class, identity and relationships.
We were overjoyed to welcome Clio to Cambridge as CFF45 opened with her latest feature, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, which we screened alongside a celebration of her remarkable career, featuring screenings of The Selfish Giant and Ali & Ava, giving audiences an opportunity to revisit some of her most celebrated work.
We were proud to recognise Clio Barnard's outstanding contribution to cinema as part of our 45th anniversary celebrations.
Youth Lab Jury Award: Coming Soon!
There's still one more exciting announcement to come!
Our CFF Youth Lab Jury are currently deliberating, discussing the films they've watched and deciding which deserves this year's Youth Lab Jury Award.
Made up of young film enthusiasts and emerging programmers aged 16–24, the Youth Lab offers the next generation of film lovers the opportunity to develop their critical voices and play an active role in the Festival.
Their award recognises a film that has made a particularly strong impression on our young jurors, and we're looking forward to sharing their decision.
We'll be announcing the Youth Lab Jury Award winner very soon, so keep an eye on our website and social channels!
Thank You, Cambridge!
A huge congratulations to all our award-winning filmmakers, and to everyone who shared their work with us at this year's Festival.
The Audience Awards are a particularly special part of CFF. They remind us that cinema is not just about the films themselves, but about the experiences we all share.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote, to our jury for their time and passion, and to all the filmmakers, volunteers, partners, and supporters who helped make our 45th edition so memorable!