It is only the second time a Spanish film has won this award, following Pedro Almodóvar’s victory in 1999 for All About My Mother.
La bola negra , the original Movistar Plus film written, directed and produced by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, has achieved a new milestone for Spanish cinema by winning the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, after being greeted last Thursday with a 20-minute standing ovation and receiving widespread acclaim from both Spanish and international critics.
The award was shared ex aequo with Fatherland director Paweł Pawlikowski.
Javier Calvo: “I never imagined I would be here with this award. The other directors are incredible. We are huge fans of this festival. We learned so much while making this film, and I hope many generations will learn from it too. I never imagined being here with this award, learning from your voices. I share it with Almodóvar and Sorogoyen. This film speaks about the importance of art, of others. Art makes us better and transforms us from within. I only hope that with every generation, the burden becomes smaller, and that art and cinema continue helping more and more in that process”.
Javier Ambrossi: “Thank you so much to the festival and this extraordinary jury. This goes far beyond anything I could ever have imagined in my life. When I started working, I often asked myself whether I was honouring those who came before me. And while directing this film, I realised that the only way to honour the LGBTQ+ people who came before us was to make sure they are remembered. We hope future generations will have at least more freedom. This means everything. Thank you to this extraordinary team”.
With La bola negra , Movistar Plus concludes a historic edition of the Cannes Film Festival with three titles in the Official Competition. In previous days, the festival also hosted The Beloved ( El ser querido ), the Movistar Plus original film directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, and Bitter Christmas ( Amarga Navidad ), by Pedro Almodóvar, with the prominent participation of Movistar Plus.
La bola negra will be released in Spanish cinemas on October 2, 2026, distributed by Elástica Films. Following its theatrical run, the film will premiere exclusively on Movistar Plus. La bola negra is produced by Movistar Plus and Suma Content Films in co-production with El Deseo and Le Pacte, with the participation of Atresmedia. Goodfellas will handle international sales.
