{"id":657136,"date":"2026-05-21T20:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/657136\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T20:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:57:09","slug":"la-bola-negra-lands-20-minute-ovation-at-cannes-world-premiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/657136\/","title":{"rendered":"‘La Bola Negra’ Lands 20-Minute Ovation At Cannes World Premiere"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tLa Bola Negra<\/a>, starring Pen\u00e9lope Cruz<\/a>, debuted Thursday evening at the Cannes<\/a> Film Festival and landed a 20-minute ovation in the Grand Th\u00e9\u00e2tre Lumi\u00e8re.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe overwhelming reception to the Competition pic (English title: The Black Ball), directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, comes very near the Cannes record for an ovation in a premiere, set by another Spanish film, Guillermo del Toro\u2019s Pan\u2019s Labyrinth, which clocked a 22-minute ovation in 2006.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for La Bola Negra, it was a uniquely overjoyed audience reception for a Cannes world premiere, the crowd sparking to the pic\u2019s tale of three men in three different periods \u2014 1932, 1937 and 2017 \u2014 connected by the last works of Spanish poet Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca.<\/p>\n

\n\tCalvo and Ambrossi, responding the the crowd, got more loud applause when Ambrossi told them, \u201cTo everyone who thinks that we\u2019re gonna step back in our LGBTQ rights, I have bad news.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018La Bola Negra\u2019 directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi get a loud applause as they tell the audience at their #Cannes2026<\/a> premiere: \u201cTo everyone who thinks that we\u2019re gonna step back in our LGBTQ rights, I have bad news\u201d pic.twitter.com\/DDf2FCWFQx<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) May 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe film\u2019s official synopsis reads: \u201cLa bola negra tells the interconnected stories of three men in three different eras. Three lives intimately linked by sexuality and desire, pain and inheritance, and one of the last unfinished works by Spanish poet Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film\u2019s cast features Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente alongside Miguel Bernardeau, Cruz and Glenn Close. Calvo and Ambrossi also collaborated on the screenplay with Alberto Conejero.<\/p>\n

\n\tLa Bola Negra is the third Spanish film to debut in Competition this year in Cannes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe project is a Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content Films production in co-production with Pedro Almod\u00f3var\u2019s El Deseo and Le Pacte. Suma Content Films is Ambrossi and Calvo\u2019s production company. The film was shot for 12 weeks in different locations across Spain, including Castile, Le\u00f3n, Cantabria, Andalusia, and Madrid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film was shot on 35mm by director of photography Gris Jordana. Other below-the-line credits on the project include Roger Bell\u00e9s as art director, Ana L\u00f3pez Cobos as costume designer, Eva Leira and Yolanda Serrano as casting directors, Rodrigo Madrigal as sound engineer, Pablo Morillas as hairstylist, Maril\u00f3 Osuna for make-up, and Bel\u00e9n Mart\u00ed Lluch as movement director. Alberto Guti\u00e9rrez edited the film.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tElastica will distribute the film in Spain, and Goodfellas is handling international sales. La Bola Negra is the first feature from Calvo and Ambrossi since 2017\u2019s Holy Camp! The duo\u2019s last project was the Movistar Plus+ series La Mes\u00edas (2023), which premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival and was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.<\/p>\n