La bola negra

La bola negra
Spanish teaser poster
SpanishLa bola negra
Directed by
Screenplay by
Based on
Produced by
  • Javier Calvo
  • Javier Ambrossi
  • Jorge Pezzi
Starring
CinematographyGris Jordana
Edited byAlberto Gutiérrez
Music byRaül Refree
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 21 May 2026 (2026-05-21) (Cannes)
  • 25 September 2026 (2026-09-25) (Spain)
  • 16 December 2026 (2026-12-16) (France)
Running time
159 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Spain
  • France
LanguageSpanish
Budget€15 million

La bola negra, also known as The Black Ball, is a 2026 drama film directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, from a screenplay they co-wrote with Alberto Conejero. A queer epic inspired by the unfinished work of the same name by Federico García Lorca and Conejero's play La piedra oscura, its ensemble cast is led by Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz, and Glenn Close.[2][3]

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2026, earning Calvo and Ambrossi the Best Director Award. It is scheduled to be released theatrically in Spain on 25 September 2026 by Elastica and in France on 16 December 2026 by Le Pacte.

Plot

The plot is set in 1932, 1937, and 2017, exploring the inter-connected lives of three gay men.[4][5]

Cast

Production

Development

The plot is inspired by La bola negra, an unfinished novel of Federico García Lorca, who wrote four pages of the work before being murdered in 1936, with the title ('the black ball') alluding to the form of rejection to a young gay man when attempting to join a social club in Granada.[5] It is also inspired by the play La piedra oscura by Alberto Conejero.[5] Los Javis declined to confirm whether García Lorca would appear as a character in the film.[5]

Main cast members Guitarricadelafuente (in his acting debut),[13] Carlos González, Miguel Bernardeau, Lola Dueñas, and Penélope Cruz were announced by Los Javis during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.[4] La bola negra is a Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content Films co-production with El Deseo and Le Pacte,[14][15] and it had the participation of Atresmedia.[16] Other cast members such as Milo Quifes (in his acting debut),[17] Lorenzo Zurzolo, Albert Pla, Yenesi Suárez, Mona Martínez, Hugo Welzel, María Morales, Daniel Ibáñez and Nuria Mencía were announced while shooting was taking place.[18]

Filming

On 26 August 2025, local media reported the beginning of filming in the abandoned village of Castil de Carrias, halfway between Belorado and Briviesca.[19] Shooting also took place in Comillas, Cantabria (where a man working as an extra fell down some stairs on set and eventually died),[20][21] Granada (Iglesia de Santa Ana, Carmen de los Mártires, Albaicín), and Sigüenza.[22][23] The production boasted a budget of around €15 million.[24]

Cinematographer Gris Jordana shot the film in 35mm film.[25] She used two Arricam LT cameras and Panavision Primo lenses.[26] Roger Bellés was the art director and Ana López Cobos the costume designer. Alberto Gutiérrez edited the film.[27]

Calvo and Ambrossi broke up their 13-year long relationship during the shooting. According to sources consulted by El País, the separation was not going to disrupt ongoing and future professional projects by Los Javis, including the rest of the shooting.[28]

Music

Lead actor Guitarricadelafuente performed (and co-wrote along with Raül Refree) the tune "La nieve", that features in a scene late in the film.[29] Judeline (who also debuted as an actress in the film) performed a version of "Soldadito español" for the film's score.[12] Refree and Pablo Lluch also arranged a re-interpretation of Camarón de la Isla's "La leyenda del tiempo", which in turn sets to music a poem by García Lorca.[30] María Terremoto provides vocals for a seguiriya.[31]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2026.[32][33] For its Australian premiere, the film made it to the lineup of the 73rd Sydney Film Festival.[34] For its Spanish premiere, it was programmed in the 'Perlak' slate of the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival.[35] For its Canadian premiere, it made it to the 'Special Presentations' slate of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.[36] It was also programmed at the New Horizons Film Festival, the New Zealand International Film Festival,[37][38] and the 74th Melbourne International Film Festival.[39]

Goodfellas took over international sales.[40] Elastica will handle theatrical distribution in Spain.[14] The release in Spanish theatres was originally scheduled for 2 October 2026, but was later brought forward to 25 September 2026.[41][16] Co-producer Le Pacte is scheduled to release the film in French theatres on 16 December 2026.[42][43]

Also in Europe, Goodfellas closed distribution deals with Cinéart (for the Benelux), Filmcoopi (Switzerland), Pandora Film (Germany and Austria), Rosebud (Greece), Altitude (the United Kingdom and Ireland), Movies Inspired (Italy), Another World (Scandinavia), Nitrato Filmes (Portugal), Cinelibri (Bulgaria), MCF (former Yugoslavia), Mozinet (Hungary), Aero Films (Czechia), Independenta (Romania), A-One Films (the Baltic countries), and Gutek Film (Poland).[44]

Shortly after its Cannes premiere, a bidding war ensued for U.S. distribution rights to the film, with A24, Netflix, Mubi, and Neon believed to be among the interested companies.[45] Netflix ultimately won in a deal worth around $4–5 million, with a multi-week theatrical release obligation and plans for an awards campaign.[27] Netflix subsequently set a 4-week theatrical window starting on 6 November 2026 before the film's U.S. streaming debut on 4 December 2026.[46] It later announced that the theatrical release date (then also reported to involve the Canadian market in addition to the U.S.) would be moved up to 16 October 2026. Its streaming release date was also brought forward to 2 December, thus giving the film a 47-day theatrical window, the longest for a Netflix film, breaking Marriage Story's record.[47]

The company also sold rights to the film in Latin America (Cine Video y TV), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto Distribution), Japan (Transformer), South Korea (Challan), Taiwan (ifilm), Hong Kong (Edko), Israel (New Cinemas), India (Impact Films), Thailand (Sahamongkol), Singapore (Anticipate Pictures), and the Philippines (FDCP).[44]

The Brazilian theatrical release date under Paris Filmes was set for 18 February 2027.[48][49]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 32 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.6/10.[50] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[51]

Elsa Fernández-Santos of El País deemed La bola negra to be "a moving and ambitious search of the Spanish queer identity", despite some excesses, otherwise featuring a stunning Penélope Cruz in a brilliant scene pumping up the troops.[52]

Guy Lodge of Variety lamented that while the ambitious film "occasionally strikes a poetic note worthy of its historical muse, it more often plays as turgidly overblown melodrama".[11]

Sophie Monks Kaufman of IndieWire gave the film an 'A' rating, wondering about the near impossibility of grasping "the structural effort required to fluidly create one perfectly coherent story using three narratives told across three timelines, each with a distinct visual identity".[53]

Richard Lawson of The Hollywood Reporter underscored the film as "a dazzling mix of contemporary pop sensibility and classical filmmaking".[54]

Daniel de Partearroyo of Cinemanía rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, lamenting that it "is overwhelmed by an ambition with no way out", adding that "the soil [the film] is turning over has already been worked extensively, and its plough is not sharp enough to cut any deeper".[55]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, rated the "rich and rewarding" movie 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be "handsomely produced, lovingly detailed and confidently constructed".[56]

Mariona Borrull of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, declaring it "a sweeping two-and-a-half-hour epic", while considering the third act to be "heavy-going or overly didactic, verging on the corny".[57]

Lee Marshall of ScreenDaily described the film as a "stirring, timely reclamation of Spain's history and queer culture" but also as "a sprawling, undisciplined melodrama", otherwise being "more effective as an earnest, cumulative emotional journey than as a viewing experience".[58]

Davide Abbatescianni of Cineuropa assessed that the film "proves rewarding and often moving, even if it occasionally struggles under the weight of its own scale".[59]

In a 5-star rating, Luis Martínez of El Mundo wrote that what the film brings to the table is, first and foremost, "a jolt of baroque, melodramatic emotion which, in its overwhelming intensity, appears proud and joyful even in its mistakes".[60]

Zachary Lee of TheWrap billed La bola negra as "one of those rare films that feels both old and new",[61] while Douglas Greenwood of i-D commended it as "grandiose historical epic".[62] Siddhant Adlakha of Observer rated the film 4 out of 4 stars, commending it as a "magnificently moving triptych that feels at once novel and like a classically staged military epic".[63]

Accolades

Ambrossi (left) and Calvo (right) showing their Cannes Award on 23 May 2026
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
2026
Cannes Film FestivalPalme d'OrLa bola negraNominated[64]
Best DirectorJavier Ambrossi and Javier CalvoWon[a]
73rd Sydney Film FestivalGIO Audience Award for Best International FeatureWon[65]

Notes

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Black Ball [MA 15 +]". Australian Classification Board. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "LA BOLA NEGRA". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  3. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (21 May 2026). "Penelope Cruz Lights up Los Javis' Queer García Lorca Epic 'The Black Ball,' Earning 16-Minute Cannes Ovation". Variety. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 Mantilla, Daniel (19 May 2025). "Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau y Penélope Cruz protagonizarán 'La bola negra', de Javier Ambrossi y Javier Calvo". Kinótico.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Silvestre, Juan; Borrull, Mariona (19 May 2025). "Penélope Cruz y Guitarricadelafuente protagonizarán 'La bola negra', la nueva película de los Javis: "Le hemos escrito el papel a medida"". Fotogramas.
  6. 1 2 Blanes, Pepa (21 May 2026). "Los Javis emocionan en Cannes con la 'La bola negra', una reivindicación de la memoria y el amor queer de Lorca". Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Ramón, Esteban (22 May 2026). "Penélope Cruz: "Reacciono ante lo injusto, como la lucha por derechos que nunca debieron ser cuestionados"". rtve.es (in European Spanish). Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Elduayen, Iker (28 June 2026). "Los Javis sobre Lorca y 'La bola negra': «Hay una cosa muy lorquiana en todo lo español»". Diario Vasco (in European Spanish). Grupo Vocento. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Los Javis, Lorca y 'La bola negra': reparto completo y primeras imágenes de su nueva película". Cinemanía. 16 October 2025 – via 20minutos.es.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Pozo, José Carlos (16 October 2025). "Los Javis incorporan nuevos fichajes a La bola negra, su próxima película para Movistar Plus+". HobbyConsolas.
  11. 1 2 Lodge, Guy (21 May 2026). "'The Black Ball' Review: The Spirit of Lorca Binds Gay Men Across a Century in an Ambitious but Distended Drama". Variety. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  12. 1 2 López Ruedas, J. Carlos (21 July 2026). "La bola negra, de Javier Calvo y Javier Ambrossi, se proyectará en el Festival Internacional de Cine de Toronto". Antena 3 (in European Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Cabeza, Elisabet (15 September 2025). "12 hot new feature film projects from Spain in the works". ScreenDaily.
  14. 1 2 "La bola negra". Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. 4 September 2025.
  15. ↑ Campos, Sofía (20 May 2025). "Los Javis ya tienen cerrado el elenco de su próxima película e incluye una estrella de Hollywood". La Razón.
  16. 1 2 "'La bola negra', la nueva película de Javier Calvo y Javier Ambrossi, se estrenará en cines el 2 de octubre de 2026". El Periódico de Catalunya. Prensa Ibérica. 16 December 2025.
  17. ↑ "Milo Quifes, de no saber qué quería hacer en la vida tras dejar Biología a protagonizar La bola negra junto a Penélope Cruz (pasando por su etapa como escritor)". Vanity Fair (in European Spanish). 22 May 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Chávez, Julieta (17 October 2025). "Conoce a los nuevos integrantes del reparto de La bola negra". The Hollywood Reporter (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  19. ↑ "Los Javis repueblan Castil de Carrias". Diario de Burgos. 26 August 2025.
  20. ↑ Pérez Z., Constanza (25 September 2025). "Un figurante muere en el rodaje de la nueva película de Los Javis: "Cayó por una escalera, sin llegar a filmar"". El País.
  21. ↑ "Muere un figurante de 78 años durante el rodaje de una película de Los Javis". La Vanguardia. 25 September 2025.
  22. ↑ Rico, Belén (2 October 2025). "Los Javis revolucionan Granada". Granada Hoy. Grupo Joly.
  23. ↑ Hernández, Nuria (16 October 2025). "El rodaje de 'La bola negra', dirigida por Javier Calvo y Javier Ambrossi, suma nuevos integrantes al reparto". Camera & Light Mag.
  24. ↑ Bonet, Enric (22 May 2026). "«Quisimos hacer una película gay sobre algo muy íntimo, pero a lo grande»". El Correo (in European Spanish). Grupo Vocento. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  25. ↑ Hazlewood, Kirsty (13 May 2026). "Seven features shot on Kodak film compete for the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2026". Cinematography World. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Comienza el rodaje de 'La bola negra', dirigida por Javier Calvo y Javier Ambrossi, con fotografía de Gris Jordana". Camera and Light Mag (in European Spanish). 4 September 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  27. 1 2 Goodfellow, Andreas Wiseman,Melanie (23 May 2026). "Netflix Closing In On Cannes Buzz Title 'La Bola Negra' For The U.S". Deadline. Retrieved 23 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ↑ Palao, Alberto (11 November 2025). "Los Javis se separan en mitad de la producción de 'La Bola Negra': ¿qué va a pasar con sus carreras?". Los 40.
  29. ↑ Feinberg, Scott (11 August 2026). "'La Bola Negra' Tune "La Nieve" Joins Best Original Song Oscar Race (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  30. ↑ "'La Bola Negra' de los Javis reinterpreta 'La Leyenda Del Tiempo' con una nueva versión de Raul Refree y Pablo Lluch: "Imposible no emocionarse"". Los 40. 16 July 2026.
  31. ↑ Busons, Teresa (14 August 2026). "Qué se sabe de la banda sonora de 'La bola negra': de la canción de Guitarricadelafuente a la versión de Judeline". Europa FM.
  32. ↑ Ntim, Zac; Bamigboye, Baz (21 May 2026). "Penélope Cruz's 'La Bola Negra' Lands 20-Minute Ovation From Overjoyed Audience At Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  33. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa; Shafer, Ellise (9 April 2026). "Cannes Film Festival 2026 Lineup: Asghar Farhadi, Pedro Almodóvar, Ira Sachs, Hirokazu Kore-eda Set for Auteur-Driven Competition". Variety.
  34. ↑ Dimitroff, Cassandra (1 June 2026). "Sydney Film Festival just added 8 fresh Cannes films to its 2026 program". Russh.
  35. ↑ "'Sants', 'El mal padre' y 'Cinco minutos más' son los filmes españoles que lucharán por la Concha de Oro del Zinemaldia". Europa Press (in European Spanish). 17 July 2026. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  36. ↑ Stern, Marlow (20 July 2026). "TIFF Announces Star-Studded Gala and Special Presentations, Led by 'Rocky' Biopic 'I Play Rocky' and Chris Rock's 'Misty Green'". Variety.
  37. ↑ "283 filmy na festiwalu Nowe Horyzonty. Kino opanuje Wrocław". Polskie Radio (in Polish). 22 July 2026.
  38. ↑ Giblin, Thomas (7 July 2026). "Ten must-see films at this year's NZ International Film Festival". The Spinoff.
  39. ↑ "MIFF unveils 74th festival program: Wicker as opening gala film, Bright Horizons competition and Armani Beauty major partnership announced". FilmInk. 9 July 2026.
  40. ↑ Rivera, Alfonso (20 May 2025). "Penélope Cruz among the stars of La bola negra by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi". Cineuropa.
  41. ↑ Villalvilla, Elena L. (1 June 2026). "La bola negra' cambia su fecha de estreno: la película de Los Javis llegará a los cines en septiembre tras triunfar en Cannes". Infobae. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  42. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (22 May 2026). "Cannes Hit 'La Bola Negra' Posts First Clip As Elástica Films Sets October 2026 Release In Spain". Deadline. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  43. ↑ Lemercier, Fabien (5 June 2026). "Le Biarritz Film Festival - Nouvelles vagues dévoile son programme". Cineuropa (in French). Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  44. 1 2 Goodfellow, Melanie (25 June 2026). "Cannes Breakout 'La Bola Negra' Sells Out For Goodfellas As Spanish Drama Eyes Awards Season Run". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  45. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa; Ritman, Alex; Jackson, Angelique (22 May 2026). "'La Bola Negra,' With Penélope Cruz, Sparks Multi-Studio Bidding War After Massive 16-Minute Standing Ovation in Cannes". Variety. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  46. ↑ Lattanzio, Ryan (24 June 2026). "Netflix Sets Awards Season Release Date for Cannes Winner 'La Bola Negra'". IndieWire. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  47. ↑ David, Clayton (4 August 2026). "Netflix Sets Its Longest Theatrical Window Ever for Oscar Hopeful 'La Bola Negra,' Moving Up Release Date". Variety. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  48. ↑ "La bola negra de Movistar Plus y Suma Content llega a los cines de más de 50 países". Produ (in Spanish). 9 July 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  49. ↑ Vitor, Ramon (18 July 2026). "10 filmes imperdíveis para assistir no 2º semestre de 2026". O Vício. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  50. ↑ "La Bola Negra". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  51. ↑ "The Black Ball". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  52. ↑ Fernández-Santos, Elsa (21 May 2026). "Los Javis invocan a Lorca y la memoria histórica 'queer' en la emotiva 'La bola negra'". El País (in European Spanish). Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  53. ↑ Monks Kaufman, Sophie (21 May 2026). "'The Black Ball' Review: Los Javis' Era-Spanning Monument to Gay Storytellers Is a Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  54. ↑ Lawson, Richard (21 May 2026). "'The Black Ball' Review: Vivid, Sweeping Epic About Gay Men in War-Torn Spain Is a Major Cannes Standout". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  55. ↑ Partearroyo, Daniel de (21 May 2026). "Crítica de 'La bola negra': los Javis irrumpen en Cannes con Lorca, el amor disidente por bandera y una asfixia de lirismo". Cinemanía (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2026 – via 20minutos.es.
  56. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (21 May 2026). "The Black Ball review – the complicated secrets of gay sexuality in Spain are brilliantly told". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  57. ↑ Borrull, Mariona (22 May 2026). ""Una epopeya, una obra magna": Crítica de 'La bola negra', la película de los Javis que invoca el espíritu de Federico García Lorca con una Penélope Cruz faraónica". Fotogramas (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  58. ↑ Marshall, Lee (21 May 2026). "'La Bola Negra' review: Penelope Cruz and Guitarricadelafuente star in sprawling exploration of Spain's queer culture". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  59. ↑ Abbatescianni, Davide (22 May 2026). "Review: The Black Ball". Cineuropa. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  60. ↑ Martínez, Luis (22 May 2026). "La bola negra: Cannes abraza entusiasmado a Lorca en el cine para la conmoción de Los Javis (*****)". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  61. ↑ Lee, Zachary (21 May 2026). "'La Bola Negra' Review: A Rousing Testament to Queer Love's Timeless Resilience". TheWrap. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  62. ↑ Greenwood, Douglas (21 May 2026). "A Gay Romance Gets The Grand, Historical Treatment". i-D. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  63. ↑ Adlakha, Siddhant (28 May 2026). "Screening at Cannes: Los Javis's 'La Bola Negra'". Observer Media. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  64. ↑ Lattanzio, Ryan (23 May 2026). "Cannes Film Festival Winners List: Palme d'Or Goes to 'Fjord,' Neon's Seventh in a Row". IndieWire. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  65. ↑ Slatter, Sean (17 June 2026). "'The Fox', 'La Bola Negra' take home Sydney Film Festival Audience Awards". IF Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
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