Filming of 'La bola negra' kicked off last week in Castil de Carrias (Burgos). 'La bola negra' is original film by Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content Films in co-production with El Deseo and Le Pacte (France), written, directed and produced by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.
Filming will last for 12 weeks in different locations in Castile and León, Cantabria, Andalusia and the Community of Madrid, and will be completed outside Spain.
Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Lola Dueñas and Penélope Cruz head the cast of the film, which takes its title from an unfinished work by Federico García Lorca, who was murdered before he could complete it.
The film is set in three periods, throughout the years 1932, 1937 and 2017.
'La bola negra' marks the return of Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi as directors and screenwriters after the success of the original Movistar Plus+ series 'La Mesías', which premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival, was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and received six Feroz awards, three Forqué awards, two awards at the French Series Mania festival and an Ondas Award, among other accolades.
International co-production
At the latest edition of the Cannes Film Festival, it was announced that Le Pacte will co-produce 'La bola negra' and Goodfellas will handle international sales.
Le Pacte has co-produced films by renowned directors such as Nanni Moretti, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Alberto Rodríguez, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa and Jim Jarmusch, and has distributed works like 'Anora' by Sean Baker, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and triumphed at the latest Academy Awards.
Goodfellas’catalog includes two times Palme d’Or winners such as Ken Loach and Dardenne brothers and winners like Kore-Eda Hirokazu ‘Shoplifters’, Julia Ducournau with 'Titane', 'Dheepan' by Jacques Audiard, and 'Blue is the Warmest Color' by Abdellatif Kechiche.
El Deseo has also joined the production by Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content Films. The production company founded by Agustín and Pedro Almodóvar will co-produce 'La bola negra'.
El Deseo is behind all of Pedro Almodóvar's films from 'La bola negra' to 'Amarga Navidad', which has just finished filming, and films such as 'Acción mutante' by Alex de la Iglesia, 'The Devil's Backbone' by Guillermo del Toro, 'My Life Without Me' and 'The Secret Life of Words' by Isabel Coixet, 'The Holy Girl' and 'The Headless Woman' by Lucrecia Martel, 'Wild Tales' by Damián Szifron, and 'Sirât' by Oliver Laxe.
Release in 2026
'La bola negra' will be released in cinemas in 2026. Elastica will be the film's distributor in Spain. After its theatrical release, the film will be available exclusively on Movistar Plus+. Elastica is the producer and distributor of films such as 'Romería' by Carla Simón, and has released films such as 'Drive My Car' by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, 'Annette' by Leos Carax, 'Past Lives' by Celine Song, 'Anatomy of a Fall' by Justine Triet, 'The Zone of Interest' by Jonathan Glazer, 'La Chimera' by Alice Rohrwacher, 'The Substance' by Coralie Fargeat, and 'Queer' by Luca Guadagnino.
The Team
'La bola negra', shot on 35 mm, features Gris Jordana as director of photography, Roger Bellés as art director, Ana López Cobos as costume designer, Eva Leira and Yolanda Serrano as casting directors, Rodrigo Madrigal as sound engineer, Pablo Morillas as hairstylist, Mariló Osuna is in charge of make-up and Belén Martí Lluch is the movement director. Alberto Gutiérrez will be responsible for editing and Raül Refree for the film's music. All of them are returning to work with Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi after 'La Mesías'.
They are joined by Laura Pedro as visual effects supervisor, Pau Costa as special effects supervisor and Clara Salvador as location manager.
Mariano Piñeiro is the production manager and Álvaro Riesgo is the director's coordinator.
Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi wrote the film's screenplay together with Alberto Conejero.
Synopsis
‘La bola negra’ tells the interconnected stories of three men across three different eras. Three lives intimately bound by sexuality and desire, pain and legacy; inspired by one of Federico García Lorca's last, unfinished works.
About Movistar Plus+
Movistar Plus+ is the leading audiovisual entertainment offering of the Telefónica Group in Spain. Its proposition includes bold original productions and the best premium sports content, films, series, documentaries and programmes, in addition to the best functionalities and on-demand access so users can enjoy watching television wherever, however and whenever they wish.
Movistar Plus+ was born as a film producer in 2013 under the Telefónica Studios brand. Some of the co-produced titles are 'Palm Trees in the Snow', 'Regression', 'Tadeo Jones', 'My Big Night', 'Anacleto Secret Agent', 'Wild Tales', 'Requirements To Be A Normal Person', 'To Steal From A Thief', 'Toro', 'Altamira', 'Truman', 'Smoke & Mirrors', 'Gold' or 'Champions'. In 2019, Movistar Plus+ released its first original fiction film, 'While at War', by Alejandro Amenábar, followed by 'Canallas', by Daniel Guzmán, and 'Prison 77', by Alberto Rodríguez, 'I'm Nevenka' by Iciar Bollain and 'Sirât' by Oliver Laxe. Movistar Plus+ will premiere the original films 'Los Tigres' by Alberto Rodríguez and 'Los Domingos' by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa in 2025. In 2026, 'La bola negra' by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi will be released in cinemas.
