THE BLACK BALL

GREATER ADRIA

DIRECTOR: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi

COUNTRY: ES, FR

YEAR/DURATION: 2026. • 159′

historical queer drama

Info

SCREENPLAY: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, Alberto Conejero, based on the eponymous novel by F. G. Lorca and the play La piedra oscura by A. Conejero
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Gris Jordana
EDITOR: Alberto Gutiérrez
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Roger Bellés
COSTUME DESIGN: Ana López Cobos
CAST: Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close
PRODUCERS: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Suma Content Films (ES), Telefónica Audiovisual Digital (ES), Los Esquiadores AIE (ES), El Deseo (ES)
CO-PRODUCED BY: Le Pacte (FR)
DISTRIBUTION: MCF

Festivals and awards

Cannes Film Festival 2026 – Best Director Prize (ex-æquo)

Synopsis

Set across three timelines — Republican Spain in 1932, the Civil War in 1937, and contemporary Spain in 2017 — the film follows a constellation of interconnected lives centered on three young men, whose emotional and political echoes gradually reveal themselves.

Trailer

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About the directors

Javier Ambrossi (Madrid, 1984) is a Spanish writer, producer, director and actor. He is best known for forming a creative duo with Javier Calvo, with whom he has delivered the stage play La llamada and its film adaptation, as well as the television series Paquita Salas, Veneno and La mesías.

Javier Calvo (Murcia, 1991) is a Spanish actor, stage, film, and television director and writer. Together with Javier Ambrossi, Calvo created and directed the stage play La llamada, and its film adaptation, as well as the television series Paquita Salas, Veneno and La mesías. He has received several awards including a pair of wins in both the Feroz Awards and Fotogramas de Plata, and has received nominations for two Goya Awards.