The new trailer for La Bola Negra is here, and if you have been hearing the early Oscar buzz around this Spanish-language queer epic, consider this your sign to start paying attention.
I had the chance to see La Bola Negra ahead of its theatrical release, and I left the screening not only reveling but also knowing I had just watched one of the films that will be talked about throughout awards season. The new trailer only reinforces that feeling. There is a scale and confidence to Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s film, better known as Los Javis, that is difficult to shake.
And, yes, I am already calling it one of my favorite films of the year.
The film follows three men across three different periods of Spanish history: 1932, 1937 and 2017. Their stories are separated by decades, but each is connected by desire, sexuality, family and the things that survive long after the people who lived through them are gone.
The latest trailer gives us a much fuller look at that structure, while keeping plenty of the story under wraps.
Three Men, Three Eras, One Queer Story
At the center of La Bola Negra are Carlos (Milo Quifes), Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente) and Alberto (Carlos González), three men whose lives unfold in very different versions of Spain.
Carlos is searching for a place where he belongs. Sebastián finds a connection during the Spanish Civil War, when simply being yourself could carry enormous consequences. Decades later, Alberto begins uncovering a family secret that forces the past back into the present.
The film takes inspiration from Federico García Lorca’s unfinished work La bola negra, while also drawing from Alberto Conejero’s play La piedra oscura. Lorca’s influence is not just a footnote here. His presence gives the film another layer of history, particularly as the story considers what happens to queer lives, art and stories when they are pushed into silence.
That sounds heavy on paper. Somehow, the movie brings meaning and beauty to the troubles in its tales. I felt magnetized towards the characters and their journies.
There are intimate moments, gorgeous period details and plenty of emotional devastation, but there is also humor and warmth between the heartbreak. Los Javis understand that queer stories do not have to exist entirely inside tragedy to acknowledge the painful parts of our history.
The Cast Is Doing A Lot
The cast alone should have this movie on your radar.
Guitarricadelafuente makes his acting debut as Sebastián, alongside Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González and Milo Quifes. Then there is Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close, with Julio Torres also appearing in the ensemble.
Guitarricadelafuente is especially interesting because he also contributed original music to the film. His song “La Nieve” appears in the new trailer, and the music does not feel tacked onto the story simply because a movie needs a sweeping ballad. It feels connected to the characters and the period-spanning story itself.
And then there is Penélope Cruz. And Glenn Close. I mean come on now, true Hollywood royalty! You can feel this was an important story they wanted to be a part of telling, and they add such nice layers to it.
But what stayed with me most from my screening was how well the ensemble fits into the larger story. No performance feels like it exists simply to give the movie another recognizable face. Everyone has a place in the puzzle.
La Bola Negra Is Already Having A Big Awards Season
If the movie were simply arriving with a flashy trailer and a famous cast, that would be one thing. La Bola Negra already has some serious festival history behind it.
Los Javis won the Best Director award at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival for the film, where La Bola Negra premiered in competition.
Then came Toronto. La Bola Negra won the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award, giving the film another major audience prize and adding even more fuel to its awards-season conversation. It was also the first non-English-language film to win TIFF’s top audience award since 2011.
And Spain has selected La Bola Negra as its official submission for the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature race.
So when I say I think this movie is a massive awards-season contender, I am not saying that simply because I loved it. The festival run has already made a pretty convincing case for why people are paying attention.
The new trailer just gives audiences another reason to join the conversation.
A Queer Film With Something To Say
What I appreciated most about La Bola Negra is that it never treats its queer characters like symbols first and people second.
These men want things and they’re navigating the harsh circumstances of their lives while also wrestling with their identities in such trying times with complicated dynamics. They want to belong, just like everyone does. There’s a real sense of humanity in all the characters.
That makes the film feel personal even when the story stretches across decades.
There is also something particularly exciting about seeing a movie this ambitious put queer lives at the center of Spanish history without sanding down the complicated parts. La Bola Negra is not interested in making the past comfortable. And honestly? Good.
I left my screening thinking about the characters, the performances and several of the film’s images long after the credits rolled. It is the kind of movie that rewards sitting with it rather than rushing to explain every moment.
For Gayety readers, I think that makes La Bola Negra especially worth watching.
When Can You See La Bola Negra?
La Bola Negra opens in U.S. theaters on Oct. 16, beginning with releases in Los Angeles and New York before expanding to additional markets. The film will arrive on Netflix in the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 2.
For those of us in Los Angeles, there is an especially good reason to see it on the big screen: the film was made for that kind of viewing. Netflix has also announced select 35mm screenings in theaters, while Los Javis and members of the cast are scheduled for select in-theater Q&As in Los Angeles and New York.
After seeing La Bola Negra myself, I would strongly recommend catching it theatrically if you can.
The movie is beautiful, the story is ambitious and the performances give you plenty to chew on. Add Cannes, TIFF and Spain’s Oscar submission to the equation, and there is already plenty of reason to believe we will be hearing the name La Bola Negra a lot more once awards season really gets moving.
And if you are anything like me, you will probably want to talk about it afterward.
Watch the official trailer for La Bola Negra below.
