Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close lead an extraordinary international cast in La Bola Negra, one of the year’s most anticipated Spanish-language films.
The first official teaser was unveiled today, offering audiences a haunting glimpse at the ambitious drama from award-winning filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, better known as Los Javis.
© NetflixThe emotionally charged preview moves between different periods of Spanish history, revealing fragments of love, repression, family conflict and desire.
At the center of the story are three gay men living in 1932, 1937 and 2017 whose experiences are separated by decades but connected by pain, inheritance and the things previous generations were forced to leave unsaid.
© NetflixSpanish singer Guitarricadelafuente makes his acting debut as Sebastián, a Republican soldier whose story unfolds during the turbulent 1930s.
Miguel Bernardeau plays Rafael, while Milo Quifes takes on the role of Carlos and Carlos González portrays Alberto, the central character in the contemporary storyline.
© NetflixCruz appears as Nené Romero, while Close plays Isabelle Durand. The cast also features Lola Dueñas as Teresa and Saturday Night Live alum Julio Torres.
The inspiration behind ‘La Bola Negra’:
Although Federico García Lorca is not the movie’s central character, his presence hangs over the entire story. The title comes from one of the celebrated Spanish poet and playwright’s final unfinished works, and the film is also adapted from Alberto Conejero’s play La piedra oscura.
© Universal History ArchiveLorca was assassinated in 1936, shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. His life, work and the mystery surrounding his final days provide a historical and emotional backdrop for the film.
In the 1930s storyline, Sebastián is a Republican soldier in love with Rafael, a man connected to Lorca’s real history. Decades later, Alberto struggles to repair his fractured family in Madrid, despite resistance from his mother.
© Europa Press NewsRather than connecting the stories through a conventional plot, the film uses their shared silences and emotional wounds to explore how repression can echo through generations.
“We don’t pay enough tribute to the fight these previous generations of gay men had to wage, to how they were silenced,” Los Javis previously told the Cannes Film Festival.
© Universal History ArchiveThe filmmakers co-wrote the screenplay with Conejero, bringing together historical drama, family tragedy and queer romance in a sweeping story about memory and identity.
When does ‘La Bola Negra’ come out?
La Bola Negra will arrive in Spanish theaters on September 25 before becoming available exclusively on Movistar Plus+ in Spain following its theatrical run.
The movie will open in U.S. theaters on October 16 and begin streaming on Netflix in the United States and Canada on December 2.
© NetflixThe highly anticipated movie made its world premiere in competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a lengthy standing ovation and quickly emerged as one of the event’s most talked-about films.
Calvo and Ambrossi went on to win the festival’s Best Director award, sharing the honor with Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski.
It marked a major international milestone for the creative duo behind Paquita Salas, Veneno and La Mesías.
The 155-minute film has been praised for its classical staging, visual ambition and exploration of the sacrifices made by queer men across nearly a century of Spanish history.
