Guitarricadelafuente to receive Discovery Award for acting debut in La Bola Negra
Spanish singer Guitarricadelafuente will receive the Discovery Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival for his first leading film role.
The honour will follow a screening of La Bola Negra on Oct. 24, according to Variety. The festival runs Oct. 24-31 at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.
The award recognises a breakout feature acting debut. Guitarricadelafuente, known for flamenco-inflected pop, steps into a large ensemble drama with no prior film acting credits.
La Bola Negra is a 2026 film from Spain in Spanish, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the duo known as Los Javis. It runs 155 minutes, according to the Virginia Film Festival. The Toronto International Film Festival describes it as an homage to poet Federico García Lorca, via TIFF.
The story is told in three parts. Together they follow queer men across nearly a century of Spanish history.
Milo Quife plays Carlos, a young man refused entry to a members-only social club in Granada in 1932 for being gay. Guitarricadelafuente plays Sebastián, a soldier during the Spanish Civil War who falls in love with a wounded prisoner he is ordered to guard in hospital. Miguel Bernardeau plays that prisoner. Carlos González plays Albert, a queer historian in 2017 who uncovers family secrets after his grandfather dies.
The cast also includes Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close and Julio Torres, according to Variety.
Audiences will be able to see it soon. It opens in limited release, meaning selected cinemas only, on Oct. 16 before premiering on Netflix on Dec. 2. Guitarricadelafuente also wrote an original song for the film, La Nieve, which is available to stream.
For music fans, the name will already be familiar. He first drew notice in 2018 with El Conticinio, recorded on a PlayStation microphone. That recording was later chosen for a 2025 Apple commercial directed by Spike Jonze and starring Pedro Pascal.
Since then his Guantanamera has drawn 59 million streams and Nana Triste with Natalia Lacunza has drawn 70 million streams. He released his debut album La Cantera in 2022, followed by Spanish Leather in 2025. The cover of Spanish Leather was shot by photographer Wolfgang Tillmans.
What makes this stand out is the switch of stage. From bedroom recording to festival red carpet in eight years. The Savannah honour puts him alongside previously announced recipients Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore and production designer Patrice Vermette.
