The Spanish LGBTQ+ drama “La Bola Negra” has won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, one of the festival’s most prominent honors and a prize often viewed as an early indicator of the awards season.
The film spans three time periods — 1932, 1937 and 2017 — and follows the lives of several gay men whose stories become intertwined across generations.
“La Bola Negra” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where it received strong reviews from critics.
The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw awarded the film four stars, describing it as an elegantly crafted and carefully constructed production marked by strong artistic confidence.
Netflix Secures Rights After Competitive Bidding
Following its Cannes premiere in May, several companies competed to acquire the film’s distribution rights.
Netflix ultimately won the bidding and is expected to release the film later this year.
Directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi said in a statement that the connection the film established with audiences in Toronto was “the greatest gift we could have received.”
“La Bola Negra” is the first foreign-language film to win Toronto’s People’s Choice Award since the Lebanese drama “Where Do We Go Now?” in 2011.
An Award Often Linked to Oscar Success
Toronto’s People’s Choice Award has developed a reputation as an important indicator during awards season.
In previous years, several films that won the award went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture, including “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Nomadland,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The King’s Speech.”
Last year’s winner was Chloé Zhao’s drama “Hamnet,” which went on to receive eight Oscar nominations and won the award for Best Actress for Jessie Buckley.
This year, the second-place finishers in the audience vote were the Sylvester Stallone biopic “I Play Rocky” and “Being Heumann,” a drama centered on disability rights activism.
“Elsinore” Wins the International People’s Choice Award
For the second consecutive year, the festival also presented its International People’s Choice Award.
The 2026 winner was “Elsinore,” a British drama set in the 1980s that explores the AIDS crisis.
Last year, the award went to Park Chan-wook’s darkly comic thriller “No Other Choice.”
Festival Season Produces a New Crop of Winners
Toronto’s winners arrive following a busy international festival season.
May el-Toukhy’s suspense drama “Woman Unknown” won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Meanwhile, at Cannes, Cristian Mungiu’s family drama “Fjord” took home the Palme d’Or.
With its Toronto victory, “La Bola Negra” now enters awards season with a significant boost: strong support from audiences.
