Donostia/The black ballby Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, has won the City of San Sebastián Audience Award for best film, and the British Nazaby Israelis Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, which denounces the “systematic” killing of civilians in Gaza, the best European title.
The public votes among the films in the Perlak section of the 74th San Sebastian Film Festival, including works that won awards at the last Cannes festival, such as Fatherlandby Pawel Pawlikowski, who shared with the Javis the recognition for best direction in the French competition, and fjordby Cristian Mungiu.
The Spanish film has placed itself, with a score of 9.40, at the top of the table after viewer voting closed on Friday night, closely followed by Nazaawarded in Venice, with 9.29.
The film by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo tells three stories of three homosexual men in three different times: 1932, in Granada, with Carlos as the protagonist of the unfinished work of the same name by Federico García Lorca; 1937, where Esteban, a young fascist, meets Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, a republican prisoner and ex-partner of the Spanish poet; and 2017, with Alberto, a historian, who discovers that his grandfather, whom he never knew, has died.
After winning the award for best director at the Cannes Film Festival, ‘The Black Ball’ also received the audience award at the Toronto Film Festival.
The first story stars Milo Quifes, the second by Guitarricadelafuente and Miguel Bernardeau, and the third by Carlos González. A cast that is joined by Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas and Glenn Close, with notable collaborations.
All interpreters of The black ball They will compete in the Oscar casting categories as they are an ensemble cast, as decided by Netflix, the film’s distributor in the US.
Beyond the acting categories, the film will be eligible for the nomination for best international film, as it is the representative of Spain, and for other awards such as best film, best direction, adapted screenplay or original soundtrack, according to the bets of specialized media.
After winning the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival (ex aequo with the Polish Pawel Pawlikowski for Fatherland), The black ball He also received the audience award at the Toronto Festival.
Netflix’s support for the film is so strong that they have given it the longest exclusive theatrical exhibition period in its history, 47 days, starting on October 16, which is the day of its release in the US.
