The Black Ball (film)

The Black Ball (Spanish: La bola negra) is a 2026 drama film directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, from a screenplay they co-wrote with Alberto Conejero. Inspired by the unfinished work of the same name by Federico García Lorca and Conejero's play La piedra oscura. Its ensemble cast is led by Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz, and Glenn Close.

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2026, where it will compete for the Palme d'Or and Queer Palm. It is scheduled to be released theatrically in Spain on 2 October 2026 by Elastica Films.

The plot is set in 1932, 1937, and 2017, exploring the inter-connected lives of three gay men.

The plot is inspired by La bola negra, an unfinished novel of Federico García Lorca, who wrote four pages of the work before being murdered in 1936, with the title ('the black ball') alluding to the form of rejection to a young gay man when attempting to join a social club in Granada. It is also inspired by the play La piedra oscura by Alberto Conejero. Los Javis declined to confirm whether García Lorca would appear as a character in the film. Main cast members Guitarricadelafuente (in his screen debut), Carlos González, Miguel Bernardeau, Lola Dueñas, and Penélope Cruz were announced by Los Javis during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The Black Ball is a Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content Films co-production with El Deseo and Le Pacte, and it had the participation of Atresmedia.

On 26 August 2025, local media reported the beginning of filming in the abandoned village of Castil de Carrias, halfway between Belorado and Briviesca. Shooting also took place in Comillas, Cantabria (where a man working as an extra fell down some stairs on set and eventually died), Granada (Iglesia de Santa Ana, Carmen de los Mártires, Albaicín), and Sigüenza.

The reported breakup (in their long-standing domestic relationship) between Calvo and Ambrossi took place during the production of The Black Ball although, according to sources consulted by El País, the separation was not going to disrupt ongoing and future professional projects by Los Javis, including the shooting of the film.

The film had its world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2026. Goodfellas took over international sales. Elastica will handle theatrical distribution in Spain, scheduled for 2 October 2026.

• List of Spanish films of 2026

• The Black Ball at IMDb