The Cannes Film Festival experienced one of its most emotional moments this Thursday. “La Bola Negra”, the new film by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, the creative duo known as “Los Javis”, premiered in the Official Selection in competition and received a standing ovation that lasted 16 minutes.

Visibly moved, the directors dedicated their applause to Federico García Lorca, murdered by fascism in 1936 precisely because of his sexual orientation.

"Ninety years ago, Federico García Lorca was murdered by fascism because he was gay. So, to all those who think that we are going to take a step back in our LGBT rights, we have bad news. Because we are here to stay," declared Los Javis from the Lumiére stage, according to Variety.

The film features an international cast that includes Glenn Close in a supporting role, the participation of Penélope Cruz, and the acting debut of Spanish singer Guitarricadelafuente. Completing the cast are Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes and Lola Dueñas.

Behind the cameras, Los Javis recovered the key team from their successful series “La Mesías”: director of photography Gris Jordana and composer Raül Refree. Filming lasted twelve weeks in locations in Castilla y León, Cantabria, Andalusia, Madrid and Greece.

A journey of three eras

The film, which marks the debut of Los Javis in the Cannes competition, is an ambitious queer epic that spans 85 years of Spanish history. Its plot follows the intertwined lives of three gay men in three key moments: 1932, 1937 and 2017.

The project was born from an unfinished fragment by Lorca himself, just four surviving pages of a novel that the poet left unfinished before his murder, and from the play “The Dark Stone” by the playwright Alberto Conejero, who co-wrote the script with “Los Javis.”

About “The Javis”

Ambrossi and Calvo became one of the most relevant voices in Spanish audiovisual culture since their debut feature “The Call” in 2017.

But, without a doubt, they achieved international fame with “Veneno”, the HBO Max series about the trans activist and artist Cristina Ortiz, and consolidated their prestige with “La Mesías”, which premiered at the San Sebastián Festival, became the first Spanish series at Sundance and swept the Feroz and Forqué awards.

Now, “La Bola Negra” is competing for both the Palme d'Or and the Queer Palm, and is the first feature film by Los Javis in the official Cannes selection. It also marks the debut of Suma Content Films, the new film division of its production company.