A Spanish film exploring LGBT trauma and the legacy of poet Federico García Lorca received a 20-minute standing ovation at its Cannes competition premiere this week. La Bola Negra, directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, known collectively as Los Javis, has been set for an October 2026 release in Spain by distributor Elástica Films, according to Deadline.
The film features Penelope Cruz and singer-songwriter Guitarricadelafuente. It follows the interconnected stories of three men across three different eras: 1932, 1937, and 2017. The screenplay draws from Alberto Conejero's 2015 play La piedra oscura and from unfinished work by García Lorca, who was assassinated by Franco's Nationalists in 1936 during the early days of the Spanish Civil War.
Elástica Films founder Enrique Costa described the film as a significant step forward for the directors. "La Bola Negra represents a bold new step in their career. It's ambitious, moving, and deeply cinematic," he said. "We are incredibly proud to accompany the film on its journey to Spanish audiences this October."
Alice Labadie at Le Pacte, which holds French distribution rights, said the screenplay made an immediate impression when she first read it. "Reading the screenplay for La Bola Negra felt like discovering something truly unique. They have created a rich and unforgettable cinematic world unlike anything we had encountered before. The finished film exceeded every expectation. It's emotional, daring, profoundly original and for a very wide audience. It's a masterpiece," she said.
International sales are handled by Goodfellas. CEO Vincent Maraval said it was rare to find filmmakers at this stage of their international careers with such command of their material. "It is rare to encounter filmmakers with such clarity of vision and command of storytelling so early in their international trajectory," he said. "Cannes is the ideal platform to introduce their work to global audiences."
Los Javis previously drew attention with their series La Mesías, which premiered at San Sebastian in 2023. That series followed a traumatized camera assistant whose life is upended by a viral video featuring a Christian pop band of five sisters. Movistar Plus+, which co-produced La Bola Negra, had also worked with the directors on that earlier project.
Cannes also produced a separate canine-themed celebration this week. The Palm Dog Awards, an unofficial competition recognizing the best dog performances across the festival, named two winners this year, both of them female dogs in films directed by women. The main Palm Dog went to Yuri, a stray at the center of Chilean director Dominga Sotomayor's La Perra, premiering in Directors' Fortnight. The Jury Prize went to Lola, from British director Clio Barnard's I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lola had once lived rough on the streets before being rescued by a shelter, where she was discovered and cast. The Palm Dog was founded by Toby Rose in 2001 and has become a recognized fixture at the festival.
