Minute Ovation At Cannes World Premiere
Deadline • • entertainment
Key Points:
- La Bola Negra, starring Penélope Cruz and directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a 20-minute standing ovation, nearly matching the festival record set by Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006.
- The film tells interconnected stories of three men across different eras, linked by the unfinished works of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, exploring themes of sexuality, desire, pain, and inheritance.
- The cast includes Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Cruz, and Glenn Close, with a screenplay co-written by Calvo, Ambrossi, and Alberto Conejero.
- La Bola Negra is a Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content Films production, co-produced with Pedro Almodóvar’s El Deseo and Le Pacte, and was shot over 12 weeks across various locations in Spain using 35mm film.
- The film marks Calvo and Ambrossi’s first feature since 2017 and follows their recent series La Mesías (2023); it will be distributed in Spain by Elastica and internationally by Goodfellas.