What to know about Spain's Oscar contender 'The Black Ball'

Spain's Oscar entry, The Black Ball, has generated buzz at film festivals with its powerful message supporting LGBTQ rights. The film's storylines, which explore sexuality and the Spanish Civil War, are intertwined and feature cameos from Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close.

The drama, also known as La Bola Negra in Spanish, stars Miguel Bernardeau and follows the stories of three gay men across different eras in Spain. According to The Local Spain, the film champions LGBTQ rights and has received a standing ovation at the Toronto Film Festival.

The film's directors, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, are a creative duo known as "Los Javis" who are famous in Spain for their television work. They won the best director award at Cannes, which they shared with Pawel Pawlikowski, and have seen their star rise with the film's success, reports Malay Mail.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Local Spain, Malay Mail — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.