The Spanish epic “La Bola Negra” has won the People’s Choice Award at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, according to Awardswatch. Directed by the filmmaking duo known as Los Javis—Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—the film spans 85 years, beginning with the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and extending to 2017. The narrative details a triptych of stories surrounding closeted gay soldiers, the lost final work of Federico García Lorca, and a modern-day search for buried gay and trans history.
La Bola Negra Wins Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award
The festival victory significantly bolsters the film’s Academy Awards prospects. TIFF’s top honor is voted on by festivalgoers and has established a strong historical correlation with the Oscars. According to Yahoo, all but one winner of the People’s Choice Award since 2012 has gone on to secure a best-picture nomination at the Oscars. Furthermore, thirteen of the last sixteen winners received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, with four of those films—The King’s Speech,
12 Years a Slave,
Green Book,
and Nomadland
—winning the category outright. Last year, the film Hamnet
won the award.
Festival Reception and Prior Screenings
“La Bola Negra” previously screened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in the summer, where directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo shared the Best Director award with Paweł Pawlikowski for his film Fatherland.
The Spanish-language film also competed at Cannes for the Palme d’Or and the Queer Palm.
During its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, the project drew substantial attention, including a red-carpet premiere where cast member Penélope Cruz wore a white feathered gown. Cruz, who plays a supporting role in the film, has praised the project as a story centered on humanity and empathy, calling it a love letter to cinema, poetry, and art. The film also features performances within a narrative exploring the interconnected lives of three gay men.
Distribution and Release Schedule
Following its festival run, Netflix acquired “La Bola Negra” out of Cannes and launched a full awards campaign for the feature. The streaming platform has scheduled an extended theatrical release for the film, beginning in theaters on October 16, followed by a digital streaming release on the platform in December.
In a statement released on Sunday, directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo remarked, This is a deeply personal film but it also carries a message of the importance and necessity of expressing who you are. Knowing that audiences connected with it and made it their own is the greatest gift we could receive.
TIFF 2026 People’s Choice Award Results
Alongside the top winner, the festival announced runners-up and category winners selected by audiences:
* People’s Choice Award Winner: La Bola Negra
(Directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo)
* First Runner-Up (People’s Choice): I Play Rocky
(Directed by Peter Farrelly)
* Second Runner-Up (People’s Choice): Being Heumann
(Directed by Siân Heder)
* People’s Choice International Award Winner: Elsinore
(Directed by Simon Stone)
* People’s Choice Documentary Award Winner: Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been
(Directed by Barry Avrich)
* People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award Winner: Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney
(Directed by Matthew Rankin)