All articles tagged with #the black ball
Vulture’s Cannes 2026 roundup highlights eight standout titles that leaned into queer energy and lean storytelling, from Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma to Fjord and The Black Ball, celebrating bold directorial voices and compact runtimes at a festival that felt smaller but still provocative.
At Cannes Day 10, Rami Malek's The Man I Love premiered to Oscar buzz with early praise from critics, Penélope Cruz stars in The Black Ball which earned a lengthy standing ovation, and Maika Monroe's Victorian Psycho debuted in Un Certain Regard, signaling a Gothic thriller to watch, with ovation scores highlighting The Black Ball as a standout.
Cannes’ closing slate may be mild in the moment, but several films are being highlighted as possible Oscar contenders: The Black Ball is seen as the strongest prospect, with high-profile appearances from Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close; Club Kid sold to A24 for around $17 million and is positioned for awards-season play; Scarlett Johansson’s Paper Tiger and Léa Seydoux’s Cannes run could mount campaigns; Rami Malek and Javier Bardem deliver standout performances in The Man I Love and The Beloved; Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord could break through in foreign categories; and veteran directors Andrey Zvyagintsev, Lukas Dhont, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Pawel Pawlikowski are back with new work that might yield nominations, aided by a new rule permitting two nominations in one category for actors, potentially helping Sandra Hüller in Fatherland.
Netflix is close to securing a U.S. deal to acquire Cannes Competition title The Black Ball (La Bola Negra), directed by Los Javis (Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo) and featuring Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close. The Spanish-language film, about three men across different eras connected by the final works of poet Lorca, premiered at Cannes with a standing ovation. Netflix has not officially confirmed the deal, and producers Movistar Plus said negotiations were ongoing.
Penélope Cruz leads a cameo in Los Javis’ The Black Ball, a Lorca-inspired queer epic tracing 85 years across 1930s to 2017, premiered at Cannes to a 16-minute standing ovation; the film stars Glenn Close in a supporting role and marks the duo’s Cannes official competition debut, with production spanning Spain and Greece and a Spain release set for Oct. 2 via Elastica Films; it’s in contention for the Palme d’Or and the Queer Palm.
At Cannes, The Black Ball emerges as Los Javis’ era-spanning tribute to queer storytelling, weaving three timelines—1932’s casino entry drama, 1937’s wartime romance, and 2017’s historian’s quest—tied together by Lorca’s unfinished play and a lyrical celebration of love. Praised for its audacious structure, lush sound design, and lyric, interconnected storytelling, the film unfolds like one unbroken piece of music and serves as a heartfelt homage to dead queer voices; IndieWire gave it an A and noted it’s seeking U.S. distribution.