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Spanish Film 'La Bola Negra' Wins TIFF People's Choice Award

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Entertainment Desk

In Short: The Spanish film 'La Bola Negra' has won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, a prize often seen as a bellwether for Oscar success.

The Spanish film 'La Bola Negra' has won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), a prize that has historically been a strong indicator of potential Oscar success.

The film, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known collectively as 'Los Javis,' received the award on the final day of TIFF, despite the directors not being present to accept it.

In a statement, Los Javis expressed their delight, emphasizing the personal nature of the film and its message about self-expression.

"This is a deeply personal film, but it also carries a message about the importance and the necessity of expressing who you are," Los Javis said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the spring, where it won the best director prize, has now been selected as Spain's official submission for the best international feature at the 2027 Academy Awards.

"It was a real pleasure to bring the film to London in October, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who came to see it and voted for us. To receive this recognition from audiences is particularly meaningful," Los Javis added.

The People's Choice Award is voted on by TIFF attendees, and the film received strong reactions from in-theater audience exit surveys, with 96% rating it Excellent or Very Good and 87% giving it a Definite Recommend.

The 11-day TIFF featured 294 films from 70 countries, and 'La Bola Negra' was one of the standout films, with its world premiere at Cannes and its impact on audiences.

"I saw a 16-year-old gay couple holding hands and hugging each other and crying," Guitarricadelafuente, a Spanish star in the film, recalled in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

The film, inspired by an unfinished Federico García Lorca story, stars singer-songwriter Guitarricadelafuente, with appearances by Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close.

TIFF presented 294 films representing 72 countries, welcomed more than 800 members of the film community across 98 red carpets, and hosted 279 directors from around the world.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• The People’s Choice Award, which has long been a bellwether for Oscars buzz, was one of a dozen prizes handed out Sunday, capping off the 11-day festival where 294 films screened.
• The film, which stars Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close and Miguel Bernardeau, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the spring, where it won the best director prize, tied with Paweł Pawlikowski for “Fatherland”.
• “I think the main takeaway for me is that the TIFF audience is as strong as ever, if not stronger,” he said on the red carpet after the announcement.
• The winners of the LFF’s competitive awards were announced at the festival’s close on October 18.
• “We are absolutely delighted that La Bola Negra has won the BFI London Film Festival Audience Award,” Los Javis said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.
• TORONTO — “La Bola Negra,” an epic film about the interconnected lives of three gay men in Spain, took home the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday.

What's still developing

• “They came out in great numbers.” Other big winners Sunday included “Angh,” which nabbed the Platform Award, a jury prize that comes with a $20,000 purse.
• “I come to you today with a heavy heart and beer on my breath,” Lightning said as he accepted the award, saying his mother Georgina Lightning — also a filmmaker — died unexpectedly several weeks ago.
• The LFF ended last month, but the audience award was announced this afternoon.
• The festival’s audience award for its Midnight Madness section went to “Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney,” a so-called “gonzo documentary” by Matthew Rankin about the former Canadian prime minister.
• Related Tagged: academy awards, La Bola Negra, Mike Flanagan, Oscars, Stephen King, Toronto International Film Festival Leave a comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.
• The Academy previously only accepted one submission from each country for best international feature, but this year it expanded its criteria to consider winners of qualifying awards at international film festivals.
• TIFF announced 12 awards during a live press conference at TIFF Lightbox, with honors spanning the audience-voted People’s Choice Awards, the juried Platform competition, Canadian features, international and Canadian short films, animation, and prizes presented by FIPRESCI and the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema.
• Since its launch in 1978, the prize has become an important measure of which films connect most strongly with festivalgoers and could continue building momentum beyond Toronto.
• Nearly 7,000 delegates participated in TIFF: The Market, while 2,000 accredited members of the media covered the festival.
• The Toronto International Film Festival has officially crowned its 2026 winners, closing out 11 days of premieres, red carpets, discoveries, and global storytelling.

Sources

• CityNews Torontolink
• Deadlinelink
• Rolling Stonelink
• Sentinel Coloradolink
• The Hollywood Reporterlink
• Varietylink
• The Hollywood Reporterlink
• Deadlinelink
• Varietylink
• Vancouverlink
• Sanjuandailystarlink
• Narcitylink
• Chatnewstodaylink
• Blackgirlnerdslink
• WarpBeat — background on Palm Springs Film Festival Honors 'The Invite' With Vanguard Award link
• Wikipedia — background on La bola negra link
• Netflix / YouTube — video link