Spain picks La Bola Negra as its Oscar entry
Spain has chosen La Bola Negra (The Black Ball) as its entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, the Academy's prize for features made outside the United States, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Sept 16. The decision gives Spain a Cannes winner with Netflix behind it. It also sets the calendar for the film's autumn release.
The film beat two other preselected titles, El ser querido and Los domingos, which were named as contenders by the Spanish Film Academy. The three finalists were announced by Miriam Garlo, according to the Spanish Film Academy. The earlier shortlist contained no film by Pedro Almodóvar, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Sept 3.
La Bola Negra was directed and produced by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who co-wrote the script with Alberto Conejero. It had its world premiere at Cannes on May 21. Calvo and Ambrossi then shared the Cannes best director prize in a tie with Paweł Pawlikowski for Fatherland.
The cast includes Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González and Milo Quifes, alongside Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas and Glenn Close. The story explores LGBT heritage and pays tribute to a murdered Spanish poet and playwright, Deadline reported on Sept 1. The production was made for under $15 million.
Netflix will open the film in theatres on Oct. 16 before it arrives on streaming on Dec. 2. The opening will be a platform release, meaning it starts in a small number of cinemas before expanding, with dates in New York City and Los Angeles first, according to Netflix. The 47-day gap between the cinema opening and the streaming launch, the period when a film plays only in cinemas, is the longest theatrical-exclusive window in Netflix's history.
For Cruz, the selection adds another thread to a busy awards season. She has three films in the Oscar race, La Bola Negra plus Bunker and The Invite, Variety reported on Sept 5.
What makes this stand out for fans is the path ahead. Spain now has its candidate. The film next faces Academy voters in the international race, with a full cinema run first.
