CFF44 Golden Punt Jury Award

With the 44th Cambridge Film Festival drawing to a close last week, we are thrilled to announce SLEEPLESS CITY by Guillermo Galoe as the winner of this year’s Golden Punt Award for Best Discovery Feature.

Awarded by a distinguished jury of Professor Tanya Horeck (feminist film and media scholar), Peter Bradshaw (film critic), and Mara Polgovsky (filmmaker and art historian), the prize celebrates bold new voices in cinema and recognises exceptional debut or early-career features.

On selecting Sleepless City, the Jury said:

"Filmed on the doorstep of one of Europe’s largest cities, Galoe’s debut feature immerses viewers in a world chronically overlooked: the precarious, labyrinthine shantytown of Cañada Real, Sleepless City gives us vivid access to a reality beyond news reports and beyond the mainstream, one marked as much by a childhood sense of play and movement as by the ever-present spectre of violence and instability. It is a little story told in a big way; a story that evades stereotype and evinces cinema’s power for discovery."

Although Guillermo Galoe was unable to attend the Festival in person, he shared a moving statement following the announcement of the award:

“I would have loved to be there with you to celebrate the closing of the beautiful Cambridge Film Festival. It wasn’t possible to attend in person, but I want to express from here my most sincere and heartfelt gratitude.

On the one hand, to the Festival and programming team for placing their trust in Sleepless City, it has been an honour to reach the audience in Cambridge within such a powerful context. On the other hand, to the jury, Peter Bradshaw, Tanya Horeck, and Mara Polgovsky, whose work and judgement I deeply respect. This recognition is therefore a great honour for me, and for the community the film represents.

When we were working on the film, we often asked ourselves whether such a local and particular universe as that of Cañada Real would transcend borders. Awards like this one confirm to us that the more rooted and genuine we are, the more honest we are with our vision and subjectivity, the further we can travel, because the language of images, the language of cinema, has the power to transcend all kinds of borders and boundaries.

Tonight, the protagonists of Sleepless City feel seen and heard, and we are truly happy.”

The Jury convened at Gonville and Caius College during the Festival to deliberate, and their decision reflects the Festival’s ongoing commitment to cinematic discovery, to films that surprise, challenge, and illuminate worlds often left unseen.

We warmly congratulate Guillermo Galoe on receiving the Golden Punt Award and thank all the filmmakers whose work made discovery such a vital part of this year’s programme.