The Spanish film 'The Black Ball' has attracted significant attention at various film festivals due to its strong message in support of LGBT rights, which is conveyed through intertwined storylines related to sexuality and the Spanish Civil War.
The drama, featuring actors such as Pelón Cris and Glenn Close, received standing ovations on Tuesday at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). These accolades came just before Spain submitted the film, known as 'La Bola Negra' in Spanish, as a contender for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Directors Javier Ambrosio and Javier Calvo, the creative duo affectionately known as 'Los Javis,' who were in a relationship until recently, are well-known in Spain, particularly for their television work, although they are less recognized internationally.
However, their popularity is growing following the successful premiere of the film in Cannes, where it won the Best Director award, shared with Pavel Pavliksovsky ('Fatherland').
Alongside Cris and Close, Miguel Bernardeau stars in 'The Black Ball,' and the film tells the stories of three gay men across different eras of Spanish history. Ambrosio told AFP that 'it is a tribute to the LGBTQ+ community of the past, which fought for human rights.' Speaking to journalists at a press conference during TIFF, he noted that 'we wanted to make it epic in scope.'
He explained that the story arose during the film's development. Ambrosio revealed that it was initially 'fragile' and 'intimate,' but they realized it represented a political statement, which allowed them to create an 'epic drama for everyone.'
The filmmakers emphasized that anti-LGBT laws still exist in many countries, and people from this community can face persecution or even death because of their sexuality. Calvo specifically highlighted that the film is dedicated to 'empathy, humanity, and seeing the other as an individual.'
The initial inspiration came from an unpublished play by Federico García Lorca, a poet who was executed by fascist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. They mentioned that four pages of unfinished text sparked their interest and drew them in.
Calvo told journalists that they were 'obsessed with his work,' immersing themselves in Lorca's writings, correspondence, and biographies. He added that 'we tried to understand what he wanted to achieve. It took years, years of work.'
The TIFF festival concludes on September 20.