Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, 2026, Spain/France, Rated R, 157 minutes, subtitled
Inspired by an unfinished work by Federico García Lorca, La Bola Negra intertwines the stories of three gay men across nearly a century of Spanish history. Moving between 1932, the Spanish Civil War in 1937, and 2017, directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi explore forbidden love, identity, family secrets, and the ways one generation’s hidden history reverberates through those that follow. Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, and Milo Quifes lead an ensemble that also features Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close. Calvo and Ambrossi shared the Best Director prize at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and the film subsequently won the People’s Choice Award at Toronto and the Audience Award at San Sebastián. The Guardian praised its “brilliantly told” exploration of Spanish gay history, while the Rotten Tomatoes consensus calls it a “sensorial feast.”
