La Bola Negra star Guitarricadelafuente on the "surprising" reaction to Oscar contender – and one response in particular that truly moved him

While Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is currently still considered the frontrunner when it comes to next year's best picture trophy at the Oscars, one film that has emerged as a possible challenger is a very different sort of epic.

Spanish drama La Bola Negra is directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi and inspired by an unfinished play of the same name by Federico García Lorca, with key roles for Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau and Carlos González alongside notable appearances by Hollywood heavyweights Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close.

The film – which tells an era-spanning queer story set across three timelines – has been met with rave reviews ever since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and that momentum has only continued to build now it's been released both in the UK and across the Atlantic.

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And speaking to Radio Times shortly after the film's UK release, star Guitarricadelafuente admitted that he had found the response to the film "surprising", particularly with how much of a chord it struck with global audiences.

"Ever since I said yes to the project, I was acknowledgeable about how profound this story was and the beauty in it," he explained in an exclusive interview.

"But I couldn't realise how far this could get, and how people from around the world could get to connect with the story."

He added that he had thought it was "such a Spanish story... telling so much about our own history and our own circumstances" and so to see how people at film festivals around the world had reacted made him "really proud."

"To notice that it was suddenly something very universal and not just something very Spanish," he continued. "The film talks about love and that's something that everyone connects with."

Asked if there were any reactions to the film in particular that had stood out to him, Guitarricadelafuente explained how he'd seen some especially touching responses from within the LGBTQ community.

"[The film] pays homage to all of those love stories that weren't able to happen, and all of those lives that weren't able to take place," he explained.

"And so suddenly, to know people in real life whose parents just came out – being older already, and it is not until that moment that they are able to come out – telling us about how they would feel seeing this movie for the first time and suddenly connecting to their own story."

He added that there was one actor who briefly appears in the film who himself worked for an organisation that helped people going through a similar situation.

"He is part of a LGBTQ NGO in Spain for elder people that have been rejected by society or by their families and they are living in loneliness because of their decision or their willingness to be free," he explained.

"That was something that really connected, and you realise that it's something that still happens today, and how many stories like this happen in real life."

La Bola Negra is currently showing in UK cinemas.

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Authors

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.