They just came out for the first time last night at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, La Bola Negra filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi were joined by their cast, including Penelope Cruz, this morning at their official Cannes press conference.
The film, which took 20 minutes and premiered last night, follows three men in three different periods – 1932, 1937, and 2017 – linked by the last works of the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. According to the synopsis, Cruz has a very small role in the film, and at press time, he was asked why he decided to join the project.
“I love Javis,” Cruz explained. “I love them since they started filming, we met during an event and decided to talk, we said we really like to work together and they said they were considering me, but a small part that only lasted 10 minutes, I told them to send it anyway.
Cruz added: “When I read the script, I found this amazing story. I wanted to be part of something more than just a movie. We’re not crazy, we know movies can’t change the world, but they can improve things a little bit. It didn’t matter if I was in the movie for three minutes or the whole movie. I thought this was important not only in our country but in the whole world.”
The official synopsis of the film reads: “This fool and negra tells the interconnected stories of three men in three different eras. Three lives closely linked by sex and desire, pain and legacy, and one of the last unfinished works of the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.”
Discussing the origin of this project, Ambrossi said that he and Calvo were determined to “combine poetry and theater” with this project, which he described as “the biggest challenge of this film.”
Calvo described last night’s audition and the lengthy show of hands as “an incredible moment.”
“Social media was working hard, and I considered everything a dream,” he said. “Yesterday, when the film was shown, it seemed to speak to people, and we thought, well, everyone understands the film.”
Cruz added: “Last night was one of the strongest, most powerful moments I’ve ever had at a festival.
Starring alongside Cruz are Spanish singer Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos Gonzalez, Milos Quifes, and Glenn Close. Calvo and Ambrossi also collaborated on screen with Alberto Conejero.
La Bola Negra it is the third Spanish film to premiere in Competition this year at Cannes.
The project is a production of Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content Films in association with Pedro Almodóvar’s El Deseo and Le Pacte. Suma Content Films is the production company of Ambrossi and Calvo. The film was shot over 12 weeks in various locations in Spain, including Castile, León, Cantabria, Andalusia, and Madrid.
The film was shot on 35mm by director of photography Gris Jordana. Other credits below in the project include Roger Bellés as art director, Ana López Cobos as costume designer, Eva Leira and Yolanda Serrano as broadcast directors, Rodrigo Madrigal as sound engineer, Pablo Morillas as hair stylist, Mariló Osuna for makeup, and Belén Martí Lluch as motion director. Alberto Gutiérrez edited the film.
Elastica will distribute the film in Spain, while Goodfellas is handling international sales. La Bola Negra the first feature from Calvo and Ambrossi since 2017 Holy Camp! The duo’s last project was the Movistar Plus+ series The Messiah (2023), which premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival and screened at the Sundance Film Festival.
