Cinema
La Bola Negra selected to represent Spain at the Oscars
Los Javis' film, which won the award for Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, must now be selected by the Hollywood Academy to compete in the Best International Feature Film category
Madrid
La Bola Negra, by Spanish director duo Los Javis, is representing Spain in the selection of films that will compete at the 99th Academy Awards ( ... the Oscars) next year.
Spain hasn't won in the Best International Feature Film category since Alejandro Amenábar triumphed in 2004 with The Sea Inside.
La Bola Negra now begins its journey to the Oscars, having beaten Sundays (Los domingos) by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa and The Beloved (El ser querido) by Rodrigo Sorogoyen.
It is now up to the Hollywood Academy to select it from among all the titles other countries have submitted.
Los Javis, who turned the Cannes Film Festival on its head with La Bola Negra, tied with Pawel Pawlikowski's Fatherland for the Best Director award.
An unfinished story, barely sketched out over four pages by Federico García Lorca shortly before he was murdered and a play by Alberto Conejero inspire the most ambitious film yet from Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.
Musician Guitarricadelafuente makes his acting debut with the film, which also features Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close.
La Bola Negra is an exploration of the Spanish Civil War through the lens of sexual identity throughout history, chronicling the intertwined lives of three men across three different eras.
The New York Times published last week an in-depth feature on Los Javis, titled 'Lovers and Auteurs, Their Breakthrough Film Was Almost the End'.
Some US media predictions even take it for granted that La bola negra, Netflix's entry this year, will end up being nominated for Best Film, something Spanish cinema has never achieved.
The timeless figure of Lorca, the celebration of the LGTBIQ+ community and the presence of Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close are sure-fire winners.
La Bola Negra will be the film that propels Los Javis to international stardom.
The film opens in cinemas on 25 September, 47 days before it becomes available to stream on Netflix: a record-breaking run that surpasses the 30 days of Marriage Story.
The upcoming San Sebastián Film Festival will serve as a formidable promotional platform, as the film is being screened in the Perlas section.
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