Toni, a 15-year-old Roma boy, lives in Europe's largest illegal settlement, on Madrid’s outskirts. Proud to belong to his family of scrap dealers, he follows his grandfather everywhere. But demolitions edge closer to their plot, and his grandfather refuses to leave, no matter the sacrifice. On dark nights without electricity, as the legends of his childhood come alive, Toni must choose: face an uncertain future or hold onto a vanishing world.
Cast & crew
CAST
Antonio « Toni » Fernández Gabarre
Bilal Sedraoui
Jesús « Chule » Fernández Silva
DOP
Rui Poças (Grand Tour, Tabu, Frankie, The Rye Horn)
PRODUCERS
BTEAM PRODS (Schoolgirls – Goya Best Film 2021)
Sintagma Films (Goya winners Even Though It’s Night and Delicate Balance)
Buena Pinta Media (Lullaby – Goya Best First Film 2022, The Mole Agent – Oscar nominated 2021)
Encanta Film (Lullaby)
Les Valseurs (Heartless)
Tournellovision (Capernaum – Oscar nominated 2019, The Innocent)
Festivals and awards
- CANNES CRITICS WEEK 2025 - SACD AWARD
“Sleepless City” is the real deal… This hard-edged Coming-of-Age Drama Set in Roma Shantytown Takes Notes from Fellini… It’s stylish and ambitious… This is an excellent film.” CRITIC’S PICK
“Sleepless City marks an auspicious feature debut for Spain’s Guillermo Galoe... The melancholy of an autumnal Western, a town overtaken by the sweep of gentrification, and the passing of an freer age.”
“Vibrant, melancholy and immersive... Succeeds brilliantly in bringing centre stage a small, much misunderstood world which too often remains conveniently hidden from view.”
“Guillermo Galoe offers a vibrant example of social realism... The newer generation of Spanish directors are taking the national cinema beyond Almodóvar.”
