Spain has officially selected La Bola Negra as its submission to the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category. The announcement positions the Netflix epic as one of the season’s most prominent international contenders.
The film is directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the Spanish creative duo known collectively as Los Javis. At the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, the pair won Best Director for the project. La Bola Negra spans 85 years of Spanish history, from the 1930s to 2017, following three generations of men whose lives are connected through desire, pain, and love. The screenplay draws on an unfinished fragment by poet and playwright Federico García Lorca.
The cast includes Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close, and Guitarricadelafuente, the Spanish musician making his acting debut. Cruz has been a fixture of the festival circuit this fall, receiving a Special Tribute Award at TIFF earlier this month for a separate project.
Netflix acquired the film following a competitive bidding war after its Cannes premiere. The streamer is releasing La Bola Negra in U.S. theaters on October 16, with a streaming debut set for December 2. The 47-day theatrical exclusivity window is the longest the platform has committed to, surpassing the 30-day window it held for Marriage Story in 2019.
Awards forecasters have positioned the film as a leading candidate in the international feature race, with some projecting additional category nominations. Academy members will vote on the international feature shortlist in mid-December.