Oscars: Spain Picks ‘La Bola Negra’ for Best International Feature Film Race

La Bola Negra (The Black Ball) from filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi has been selected as Spain‘s entry for best international feature film at the Oscars.

The Cannes breakout title recounts the story of three generations of queer men whose lives are connected through love and loss, and was written (with Alberto Conejero), directed and produced by “Los Javis.”

It became the subject of a competitive bidding war following its May 21 world premiere in Cannes, where Los Javis were awarded the fest’s best director prize for the film in a tie with Paweł Pawlikowski for Fatherland.

The cast includes Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas and U.S. Oscar-winning superstar Glenn Close.

The Javis caught up with THR‘s David Canfield recently as the film hit Telluride, where they spoke about the movie becoming a bona fide word-of-mouth hit. Made for under $15 million, the Spanish-language drama offers immense scope, which was by design. “We thought, ‘Let’s make the gayest war movie ever,’” Ambrossi told THR. “That’s the politics behind this. And no one told us to change it a bit. And now, here we are.”

The movie was made, per Calvo, with reverence for great war films like Apocalypse Now, using minimal CGI and making the most of every practical location, extra and visual effect they had at their disposal. La Bola Negra was also shot on 35mm, and brought in starpower via small but pivotal roles for Close and Cruz.

Netflix will release La Bola Negra in theaters on Oct. 16 before streaming 47 days later on Dec. 2, the longest theatrical-exclusive window in the company’s history.