Ciudad Sin Sueño by Guillermo Galoe: The weight of belonging

2025 has been a very good year for Spanish cinema. Films such as “Sorda” and “Los Domingos” have sparked numerous conversations on important topics, while others like “Romería” and “Sirat” have made it to the Cannes Film Festival. In words of the president of the Spanish Film Academy himself, Fernando Méndez-Leite, aged 81: “It is probably the most brilliant year in the history of Spanish cinema.” Despite all this, there are still films that do not receive the recognition they deserve, such as my absolute favorite for this awards season, “Ciudad Sin Sueño”.

Masterfully directed by Guillermo Galoe, the film presents the harsh reality of the gypsy community living in Cañada Real. The main character, Toni, is a 15-year-old boy who happily helps his grandfather. Although he likes to live there, the police demolish more and more homes in the area, and the dilemma of whether to stay or move to the city is very much present in his environment.

A story as interesting and necessary as this one deserved to cross Spanish borders, and it did so by winning the award for best screenplay at Cannes Semaine de la Critique. This is not the director’s first work to have been shown at the French festival, as his short film “Aunque Es De Noche”, a condensed version of what the feature film is now, was screened there in 2023.

Of course, the movie does not lose the poetic quality that characterized the short film that preceded it, which is delicate and very mature, portraying the passage of time without falling into the coming-of-age clichés. In addition, one thing that seems really interesting to me about both projects is that, with each of the titles, Guillermo clearly references the legendary flamenco singer Enrique Morente. He is a director with a very pure and free vision, which is also reflected in the songs on Morente’s album “Omega”, from which he picked “Ciudad Sin Sueño” as the main theme of this film.

If there is one thing that stands out above all else in this movie, it is the performances. Although none of the actors are professionals, their performances transcend the screen, making it seem like a documentary. Although it is completely faithful to the reality of life there, it is still a fictional story. It had been many years since I had seen such an authentic and honest film in a movie theater. All this has earned Toni, the lead actor, a Goya nomination for Best New Actor. He delivers a 10 out of 10 performance, which for me is undoubtedly the best of all the nominees this year.

We cannot overlook the technical aspects, among which Victoria Lammers’ editing stands out. Although it is difficult to appreciate in a film like this one, I think she has done a wonderful job and deserved her Goya nomination. Like her, Rui Poças has also been nominated for the beautiful cinematography that accompanies this project.

I think this movie is necessary to raise awareness because it portrays what is happening at Cañada Real in a very realistic way. During the Covid pandemic, it was a controversial issue, but until Guillermo’s projects came out years later, it was not talked about again. This film shows us that conflicts and drugs are not the reality for many people there, using this family as an example. Despite all this, the movie has been ignored in the main categories of the Goya Awards.

The director told us that they had the opportunity to organize a movie day in Cañada so that its residents could enjoy “Ciudad Sin Sueño”. In a place where there had never been a cinema, this film achieved something that many thought was impossible. Everyone could see themselves on the big screen, experiencing how their memories and their present were transformed into images that would remain forever. The colors that a projector drew in the darkness that day led to fiction and reality embracing each other, surrounded by the collective heartbeat of a neighborhood that, for one night, discovered itself to be eternal.

Words by @joaquinxbc