The Black Ball
This French-Spanish co-production won the Best Director award at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. It is set in three different eras: 1932, 1937 and 2017. How these three plots intersect is the mystery of the film.
We open in 1937, where a rural village loyal to Nationalist rebels is holding a celebration to welcome their Italian allies. However, when the planes fly overhead, they strafe the villagers with bullets and send bombs whining down into buildings. One young man, Sebastián (the singer Guitarricadelafuente, making a promising acting debut), scrambles to safety, only to be conscripted into the fascist army. Five years earlier, with revolution approaching, another young man, Carlos (Milo Quifes), drowns his sorrows after being black-balled from his father’s social club due to unseemly rumours about his sexual proclivities. And in 2017, a writer and historian, Alberto (Carlos González), learns that a grandfather he didn’t know he had has left him something in his will - a document that will crucially link his story to the past. This is a stunning piece of work. A film with a moving score and exquisite cinematography. Cast also includes Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close. (Subtitles)
Spain/France 2026 Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi 155m
