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64th Critics' Week: Ava Cahen Presented Guillermo Galoe's SLEEPLESS CITY at the 23rd FICM

Brian V. Soto

As part of the partnership that has united the 23rd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) with the Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week for two decades, the section's artistic director, Ava Cahen, presented Sleepless City (2025) by director Guillermo Galoe.

Sleepless City is the Spanish director's first feature film, which won the SACD (Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers) Award for Best Screenplay at Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival.

“The screenplay for this film is absolutely extraordinary,” said Ava Cahen. “In fact, for several years, Guillermo Galoe filmed the people of the Cañada Real, a slum or lost city—the largest in Europe, located just twenty kilometers from Madrid. And it is thanks to these people, their complicity and support, that he created this Romanesque fiction, in which we follow the adventures of two crazy and daring teenagers who enjoy filming their escapades with their cell phones, resulting in prodigious images that border on surrealism," she added.

In Madrid's largest informal settlement, 15-year-old Toni and his family, who collect scrap metal, are evicted from their home. While his grandfather refuses to leave, Toni is torn between tradition and survival through the dark nights. 

“It's a very beautiful film, but it's also a drama and a coming-of-age story. The director has invented his own formula to blend genres, which is quite a feat, but above all, it's a great cinematic gesture that leaves an indelible mark on the mind and heart,” she said.

Ava Cahen urged the audience to see the film, noting that one thing they really liked about it was Guillermo Galoe's tribute to the residents of the Cañada, who, although marginalized by society, occupy a central place here.