After garnering a rapturous reception and a 16-minute standing ovation in Cannes, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo’s “La Bola Negra” (“The Black Ball”) has sparked a multi-studio bidding war for U.S. rights. Among the bidders are A24, Mubi and Netflix.
Thursday night’s premiere marked the Cannes competition debut for the filmmaking duo known collectively as Los Javis, who have built an ardent international following with the series “Veneno” and “La Mesías.” Their film “The Black Ball” — a queer epic spanning 85 years of Spanish history and inspired by an unfinished fragment by Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca — is in contention for both the Palme d’Or and the Queer Palm.
The deal marks the second major bidding war of this year’s festival; the other hot sales title was Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid,” which ultimately landed at A24 in a $17 million acquisition.
A24 would be the most surprising of the three distribtuors to land the title as the indie darling hasn’t widely prioritized non-English-language films, while Mubi is more established in that arena and Netflix has a track record of promoting local-language movies. Neon, which brought nine titles to the festival, also has a history of foreign-language films, but it’s unclear if they’ve submitted a bid or are simply interested in the title.
