La Bola Negra scored a 20-minute ovation at Cannes.
It is the third Spanish film to debut in Competition at Cannes this year.
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the Spanish film stars Penélope Cruz.
Spanish film La Bola Negra (English title: The Black Ball), starring Penélope Cruz, premiered Thursday evening (May 21) at the 79th Cannes Film Festival and received a thunderous response, earning a 20-minute ovation in the Grand Théâtre Lumière.
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (popularly known as Los Javis), it was close to the ovation record set by the Spanish film, Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, which landed a 22-minute ovation in 2006.
La Bola Negra is competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or at this year’s festival.
La Bola Negra earns a 20-minute ovation at Cannes
Apart from Penelope, the premiere was attended by her co-stars Guitarricadelafuente, Carlos Gonzalez, Miguel Bernardeau, Milo Quifes, and Lola Dueñas. Co-directors and co-writers Javier Calvó and Javier Ambrossi were also present.
Penelope, Calvó and Ambrossi broke down in tears as the entire crowd cheered and lauded them.
In their speech, the directors-duo said, “Ninety years ago, Federico García Lorca was killed by fascism because he was gay. So, to everyone who thinks that we are gonna step back in our LGBT rights, we have bad news. Because we are here to stay. So, thank you. Cannes Festival, thank you. Long live Cannes. For the opportunity, thank you. May we all truly know that we are in the same fight.”
The film synopsis reads: “La 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 Federico García Lorca´s last, unfinished works.”
Ambrossi and Calvo co-wrote the screenplay with Alberto Conejero. La Bola Negra is the third Spanish film to debut in Competition at Cannes this year.
The film has been backed by Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content Films and co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar’s El Deseo and Le Pacte.
