24/09/2026 - The Spanish directorial duo talk about their film’s major international success, their connection with young audiences, and the value of telling a story about love and memory

Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (© Ulises Proust/SSIFF)

For quite some time now, the careers of Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, or los Javis for short, have been synonymous with success. All of their work has managed to connect with audiences and with at least a portion of the critics. But what they are experiencing with La bola negra has surpassed all their expectations. When, in a meeting with journalists held to mark the presentation of the film in the Perlak section of the San Sebastián International Film Festival, we mention that they have made history in Spanish cinema after their triumphant run at Cannes, they react humbly. “Let’s see - the film hasn’t even been released yet,” says Calvo. “It’s true that it had a very good run at Cannes and that the Best Director Award has only gone to Luis Buñuel (for The Young and the Damned, 1951), Pedro Almodóvar (for All About My Mother, 1999) and now us. So… it's not bad. But a film doesn’t exist until it has viewers.”

Both are thrilled because “having people see it is the main goal”. Calvo expands on the idea that “it’s very significant for a queer film, with three gay protagonists, to reach so many people because the movie goes far beyond that. It speaks about humanity, empathy, love and legacy - our stories aren’t niche; they’re much bigger than that.” Ambrossi returns to the film’s complexity and proudly says it’s a work “with many layers and with three timelines: one in the present, another in Granada in 1932 and another in 1937, in the midst of the Civil War. It’s a life-affirming film that blends genres. Of course, it’s a war film, but it’s also a love story, an adventure, an investigation… And we hope it speaks to a lot of people.” Calvo adds that it’s also “a movie about memory; the first line of Lola Dueñas’s character is: ‘Not everyone has the memory you do’.”

Beyond the expectations for the journey that still lies ahead for the film, both again stress how eager they are for audiences to connect with it. In Calvo’s words, “The film is a journey. I’d like people to sit down in their seats, forget everything else and just let themselves be swept away by it. We’ve just come from a screening full of young people, and one kid told us he didn’t watch any Spanish cinema, that he only watched Hollywood stuff, and now he wants to see more Spanish films. That really moved me.”

Ambrossi also emphasises this connection with younger audiences: “Since La Mesías, I’ve realised that young people want to see bolder projects. When it came out, many people were afraid it might be a bit weird, but young audiences connected with it immediately. And I think that’s largely because, having grown up with social media, young people can spot all the tricks: when there’s a green screen, when there’s AI, when it’s dubbed… And they can tell perfectly what is craftsmanship. And I think the best thing we can give that audience is a handcrafted film, made by a team that poured their hearts into it for a very long time.”

Even though they are satisfied with this bond with youngsters, they are convinced the film will connect with all kinds of viewers. “The movie is very classical; it deals with multiple themes through which each viewer will find their own way in,” notes Ambrossi. Calvo fleshes out the idea by saying that the “film doesn’t have a youthful language; it’s shot in a classic style, but there’s something young in its spirit. There are scenes spoken in verse, and there’s music by Raül Refree with the Vienna orchestra, to name just a couple of examples.”

Asked whether the feature, which adapts an unfinished work by legendary poet Federico García Lorca and explores lesser-told aspects of his biography, might help audiences approach his oeuvre, Ambrossi has little doubt about it: “I think so. When you watch the film, all of Lorca’s richness is there, his symbolism. And we’re seeing people ask us, 'Hey, is this by him?' Lots of people ask us for recommendations on where to start reading his work.”

The meeting took place a few days after the announcement of La bola negra as Spain’s Oscar submission and minutes before it became known that it had won the People’s Choice Award at Toronto. On the possibility of securing a nomination, they are extremely wary: “It’s such a big dream that I prefer not to think about it, honestly,” Ambrossi says.

(Translated from Spanish)