
While captivating while you’re watching it, The Black Ball doesn’t necessarily linger in the memory afterwards – its reach sometimes exceeds its grasp. The film generated a lot of excitement at its premiere in Cannes. It’s the second feature from directing duo Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (known as Los Javis), and a bigger, more ambitious project than their first film, Holy Camp!, which was based on their stage musical about two teenage girls sent to a Catholic camp. However, like Holy Camp!, The Black Ball has a sincere and heartfelt quality that carries it through moments that might feel awkward or overly sentimental with a different director. The film takes its name from an unfinished play by Lorca about a young man ostracized for suspected homosexuality when trying to join his father’s casino. But the surviving fragments of Lorca’s work served more as inspiration for the filmmakers and screenwriter Alberto Conejero, who also wrote a play about Lorca and his lover, Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, which also influenced the story.