Already winning awards, La Bola Negra is a large-scale war and prejudice epic. Penélope Cruz appears in a blond wig, and Glenn Close speaks Spanish. The film was written by the ex-partners who created it.

Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, the directing duo known in Spain as “Los Javis,” wrote the queer epic with a focus on scale. “I’m done with LGBTQ+ movies being niche,” says Ambrossi. “I was like, ‘Let’s make the biggest, gayest war movie ever.’”

At Cannes this year, the pair shared the best director prize with Paweł Pawlikowski, who made the Thomas Mann road trip film Fatherland. La Bola Negra is now considered an Oscars frontrunner, and nominations for best picture and best director are described as all but guaranteed.

Three Stories, One Thread

The film moves between three stories set in Spain. In 1932, a young man applying to join an exclusive casino is rejected because of suspected homosexuality. In 1937, a nationalist soldier develops feelings for an injured republican prisoner in his care. In 2017, a queer historian inherits an unfinished story by Federico García Lorca. That story gives the film its title and links the three strands.

The movie includes large set pieces and visual flair in the style of Ken Russell. Cameos by Cruz and Close add to its maximalist style. The Spanish civil war appears alongside modern gay dating apps. The opening sequence shows a Spanish village bombed by Italian fascists. Ambrossi says the team wanted to show scenes that are rarely seen in queer films. “A lot of people have said they’ve been missing something like this,” he says. “They want to buy popcorn and be given a big movie like Titanic.”

Long-Time Collaborators

Ambrossi is 42 and Calvo is 35. The pair first met when they were actors. They have worked together for 13 years, and their earlier projects include the 2017 debut film Holy Camp!, adapted from their stage musical La Llamada, and the 2023 series La Mesías, now streaming on Mubi.

Calvo says the delay in making a gay-centred story came partly from personal reluctance. “Sometimes you don’t want to talk about yourself,” he says. Ambrossi says he had not been ready to discuss desire or sex in his work. “In my case, yes. I wasn’t ready to talk about desire or sex because I felt ashamed in some way.” He says the film’s producer, Pedro Almodóvar, encouraged him to address the subject directly.

The film is co-produced by El Deseo, Almodóvar’s company. The black ball in the 1932 storyline, used to vote against admitting newcomers, serves as a symbol of rejection and shame within the queer community.

Casting and Distribution

The film casts gay actors in gay roles, including singer Guitarricadelafuente, who makes his screen debut as the soldier. “It’s not that straight actors can’t play gay,” Calvo says. “There are no rules in art. But … we like to do it this way.”

Los Javis chose to release the film in US cinemas for an extended period before selling the US rights to Netflix. La Bola Negra will stay in US cinemas for 47 days, which the pair describe as a record for the streaming platform.

Personal and Professional Changes

The pair were also known as playwrights, filmmakers, actors and reality TV figures. They were regular judges on the Spanish version of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The two later separated while making La Bola Negra. Calvo says the public attention on their partnership was difficult. “I felt I’d lost my individuality.” Ambrossi says the couple will continue to write and direct together.

Both say they now plan to focus on film. “From now on, we want to focus on movies,” Calvo says. Ambrossi adds that their earlier work helped them reach a wider audience. “I grew up thinking directors should be serious and monolithic. We represented a new way.”

Near the end of the interview, the pair discussed a line in the film in which Close’s Lorca scholar tells the modern researcher, “You are truly a Spaniard.” Calvo says foreigners often remind Spaniards of their rich culture and history. Ambrossi says pride in success is sometimes viewed negatively in Spain, except in football. Asked whether they would underplay their own success, the pair answered together: “Not us.”