Spain Picks La Bola Negra for 2027 Oscar Race — SkimNews
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- Spain's Academia de Cine selected "La Bola Negra" as its entry for the 2027 international feature Oscar, announced Wednesday by Alejandro Amenábar at the academy's Madrid headquarters.
- "La Bola Negra" premiered in Cannes main competition, earned a 16-minute standing ovation, and shared the best director prize with Paweł Pawlikowski for "Fatherland."
- Netflix acquired the film for the U.S. and later Canada and will open it theatrically Oct. 16 on a 47-day window — the longest theatrical run of any Netflix release in the streaming giant's history.
- "La Bola Negra" braids three stories set in 1932, 1937 (Spanish Civil War), and 2017, drawing on the first four pages of an unfinished novel by Federico García Lorca, with Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close (cameo), Miguel Bernardeau, and Guitarricadelafuente in the cast.
- Movistar Plus+ and Los Javis' Suma Content Films produced the film, with co-production from Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar's El Deseo and France's Le Pacte; sales agent Goodfellas has "practically sold out" world rights.
- After bows at Telluride and Toronto and a Sydney Festival Audience Award win, San Sebastián Festival hosts "La Bola Negra's" Spanish premiere Saturday, ahead of opening New York's NewFest on Oct. 15.
Why it matters: Spain's selection crowns "La Bola Negra" as a Netflix flagship awards priority — the streamer's 47-day theatrical window is the longest in its history, treating a Spanish-language title like a traditional theatrical release. With Rodrigo Sorogoyen's Bardem-starring "The Beloved" and Goya winner "Sundays" also on Spain's three-film shortlist, the country fields arguably its strongest international Oscar field ever.
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