How did Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close’s Netflix film earn Oscar buzz?

Spain has officially selected La Bola Negra as its entry for the 99th Academy Awards. Netflix confirmed the designation in a post on X, stating: “LA BOLA NEGRA is Spain’s Official Selection for the 99th Academy Awards. From Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.”

The film premiered globally at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2026. It earned a Palme d’Or nomination and secured the Best Director award for Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo. Critical reception following the premiere was positive.

La Bola Negra will open in Spanish theaters on October 16, 2026. Its streaming debut on Netflix is scheduled for December 2, 2026, following the conclusion of its theatrical run.

What defines La Bola Negra’s narrative structure

The 2026 film unfolds as a non-linear queer epic. Its storyline interweaves three distinct timelines pivotal to Spanish history: 1932, 1937, and 2017. Each era centers on a queer character whose experience illuminates evolving dimensions of queer identity, state suppression, and artistic expression across a century.

According to IMDb, the synopsis reads: “Explores what it means to be gay throughout different eras, focusing on ‘three existences’ that are connected through themes of sexuality, desire, pain, and inheritance.”

The screenplay draws from Federico García Lorca’s unfinished four-page manuscript and Alberto Conejero’s play La piedra oscura. The 155-minute production features Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close, Miguel Bernardeau, Guitarricadelafuente, Lorenzo Zurzolo, Daniel Ibáñez, Julio Torres, Lola Dueñas, and Milo Quifes.