“The Black Ball” (“La bola negra”) premiered in the main competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. It was reportedly sold to Netflix in a massive $5 million-plus deal, according to Variety.
Directed by Spanish creative duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “Black Ball” received a 16-minute standing ovation at Cannes, with the 155-minute queer historical drama emerging as one of the festival’s most talked-about films.
The film has sparked a multi-studio bidding war for its U.S. rights, with A24, Mubi, and Netflix among the major bidders.
Taking cues from Federico García Lorca’s unfinished work and Alberto Conejero’s “La piedra oscura,” the film is already winning over critics, earning an 86 score on Metacritic and an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes so far.
The movie brings together a strong ensemble cast, with Penélope Cruz as Nené, Glenn Close as Isabelle, Guitarricadelafuente playing Sebastián, Carlos González as Alberto, Miguel Bernardeau as Rafael, Milo Quifes as Carlos, and Lola Dueñas as Teresa.
Set across three time periods — 1932, before the Spanish Civil War; 1937, during the war; and 2017, in the modern day — this Spanish drama explores queer lives and identities through three interconnected stories bound by love, desire, pain, and family legacy.
