By Eili Cordova
The Cannes Competition experienced one of its most emotional moments this Thursday. “La Bola Negra”, the new film by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, the creative duo known as “Los Javis”, premiered in the Official Section in competition and received a standing ovation that lasted 16 minutes.
Visibly excited, The directors dedicated the applause to Federico García Lorca, murdered by fascism in 1936 precisely because of his sexual orientation.
“Ninety years ago, Federico García Lorca was murdered by fascism because he was homosexual. So, to everyone who thinks we’re going to take a step back on our LGBT rights, we have bad news. Because we are here to stay“, declared Los Javis from the Lumiére stage, according to Differ.
The film has an international cast including Glenn Shut in a secondary role, the participation of Penelope Cruzand the acting debut of Spanish singer Guitarricadelafuente. Completing the cast are Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes and Lola Dueñas.
Behind the cameras, Los Javis recovered the key team from their successful series “La Mesías”: director of photography Gris Jordana and composer Raül Refree. Filming lasted twelve weeks. in locations in Castilla y León, Cantabria, Andalusia, Madrid and Greece.
A journey of three eras
The film, which marks the debut of Los Javis in the Cannes competition, is an ambitious epic involving spanning 85 years of Spanish history. Its plot follows the lives intertwined scenes of three gay men in three key moments: 1932, 1937 and 2017.
The project is born from an unfinished fragment of Lorca himselfjust four surviving pages of a novel that the poet left unfinished before his murder, and the play “The Dark Stone” by the playwright Alberto Conejeror, who co-wrote the script with “Los Javis”.
About “The Javis”
Ambrossi and Calvo became one of the most relevant voices in Spanish audiovisual culture since his debut feature “The Call”, in 2017.
But, without a doubt, They achieved international fame with “Veneno”, the HBO Max series about the trans activist and artist Cristina Ortiz, and consolidated their prestige with “The Messiah”which premiered at the San Sebastián Competition, became the first Spanish series at Sundance and swept the Feroz and Forqué awards.
Now, “La Bola Negra” is competing for both the Palme d’Or and the Uncommon Palm, and It is the first feature film by Los Javis in the official selection of Cannes. It also marks the debut of Suma Declare Motion photos, the new film division of his production company.
Continue reading:
· “Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp graduates from college
· Cate Blanchett affirms that the #MeToo movement “was annihilated very quickly”
· Demi Moore opens debate in Cannes with her opinion on AI in cinema: “It’s a lost battle”
