Netflix has won the U.S. rights to La Bola Negra (The Black Ball) after a competitive bidding war for one of the most talked-about films to come out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The sweeping Spanish queer epic, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — the duo known as Los Javis — tied for Best Director at the 79th Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or.
The film drew a standing ovation reported at between 16 and 20 minutes at its Cannes premiere and will open in U.S. theaters on Nov. 6, ahead of its Netflix debut on Dec. 4, with the streamer committed to a multi-week theatrical run and an awards campaign.
Read on for everything to know about La Bola Negra.
The plot
Set across three timelines — 1932, 1937, and 2017 — La Bola Negra follows three gay men whose lives are connected through desire, pain, and inheritance. The film is inspired by an unfinished novel of the same name by Federico García Lorca, who wrote only four pages before being murdered in 1936, as well as the play La piedra oscura by co-writer Alberto Conejero.
The cast
The film stars Spanish music artist Guitarricadelafuente in his acting debut alongside Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Julio Torres, Penélope Cruz, and Glenn Close.
Premiere and Cannes reception
La Bola Negra had its world premiere in the main competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 21. After the applause died down, Los Javis addressed the crowd directly. “Ninety years ago, Federico García Lorca was killed by fascism because he was gay. So, to everyone who thinks that we are gonna step back in our LGBT rights, we have bad news. Because we are here to stay,” they said. “May we all truly know that we are in the same fight.”
In a statement on the Netflix acquisition, the duo added: “When we began writing La Bola Negra, we wanted to tell a story about freedom, legacy, and the importance of LGBTQ+ visibility. Above all, we wanted to honor the generations of people whose courage and sacrifice made our freedoms possible today.”
La Bola Negra is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a critics score of 88%. Universal acclaim on Metacritic has resulted in a score of 85%.
Streaming and theatrical release
La Bola Negra will open in U.S. theaters on Nov. 6 with a Netflix streaming premiere to follow on Dec. 4. The film is already set for theatrical release in Spain on Sept. 25 and France on Dec. 16.
Behind the camera
Calvo and Ambrossi co-wrote the screenplay with Conejero and produced alongside Jorge Pezzi. Spanish cinematographer Gris Jordana shot the film on 35mm using two Arricam LT cameras and Panavision Primo lenses. Alberto Gutiérrez edited the film, with music by Raül Refree.
