A Bola Preta to open the 28th Festival do Rio

The film ‘A Bola Preta’ (La Bola Negra) has been selected to open the 28th edition of the Festival do Rio. Directed by the Spanish filmmaking duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known as ‘Los Javis’, the film will have its Brazilian premiere at the Cine Odeon on October 1st.

Produced by Netflix and distributed in Brazil by Paris Filmes, the film arrives with significant international acclaim following its success at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 20-minute standing ovation and the Best Director award. It has also been featured at the San Sebastián and Sydney film festivals and is considered a contender for the Oscar shortlist for Best International Feature Film.

Inspired by the unfinished work of Federico García Lorca and the play ‘La piedra oscura’ by Alberto Conejero, the film follows the lives of three gay men across three distinct periods of Spanish history: 1932, 1937, and 2017. The narrative explores themes of desire, memory, identity, and social legacy.