Oscar Contender 'La Bola Negra' Gains Momentum with Star's Discovery Award Win

The acclaimed Spanish epic film “La Bola Negra” is making significant waves, earning its star, Guitarricadelafuente, the prestigious Discovery Award at this year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival. The musician is being recognized for his breakout feature acting debut in the Oscar-buzzy drama. Guitarricadelafuente, 29, will receive the honor following a screening of the film on October 24, joining other announced honorees such as Helen Mirren (Legend of Entertainment Award), Julianne Moore (Icon Award), and Patrice Vermette (Variety Creative Impact in Production Design Award) at the festival, which runs from October 24-31.

Directed by the popular duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, collectively known as Los Javis, “La Bola Negra” intricately weaves three stories about queer men spanning nearly a century of Spanish history. Guitarricadelafuente stars as Sebastián, a soldier during the Spanish Civil War who develops a deep connection with a wounded prisoner, Miguel Bernardeau, whom he is assigned to guard in a hospital. The ensemble cast also includes Milo Quife as Carlos, a young man rejected from a social club in Granada in 1932 for his homosexuality, and Carlos González as Albert, a queer historian in 2017 who uncovers family secrets after his grandfather's death. Renowned actors Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close, and Julio Torres round out the impressive cast. Ambrossi has famously stated the directors aimed to create “the gayest war movie ever,” drawing inspiration from Federico García Lorca’s unfinished play and Alberto Conejero’s “La piedra oscura.”

Guitarricadelafuente's journey to acting fame follows a notable music career. He first garnered attention in 2018 with “El Conticinio,” a song recorded on a PlayStation microphone, which was later chosen for a 2025 Apple commercial directed by Spike Jonze and starring Pedro Pascal. His early hits “Guantanamera” and “Nana Triste” (featuring Natalia Lacunza) amassed 59 million and 70 million streams, respectively. His debut album “La Cantera” was released in 2022, followed by “Spanish Leather” in 2025, which featured a cover photograph by Wolfgang Tillmans. An original song by Guitarricadelafuente, “La Nieve,” from “La Bola Negra,” is now available for streaming.

“La Bola Negra” has achieved significant critical acclaim and awards, bolstering its Oscar prospects. It won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, becoming the first Netflix film to secure this audience prize and the first non-English-language winner in 15 years. Historically, 14 of the past 16 People’s Choice winners have earned best picture nominations, with four ultimately winning. The film also received the Audience Award at the San Sebastián Film Festival and earned Los Javis the best director award at Cannes, which they shared with “Fatherland” helmer Paweł Pawlikowski. Co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar’s El Deseo, “La Bola Negra” has been selected as Spain’s official submission for the international feature category at the Academy Awards. The film is set for a limited theatrical release on October 16, before expanding wider and premiering on Netflix on December 2.

This strategic release schedule, featuring a 47-day exclusive theatrical window – the longest in Netflix's history – underscores the streaming giant’s intensified pursuit of a Best Picture Oscar. Despite building Hollywood’s most expensive awards machine and earning a decade of best picture nominations, Netflix has yet to secure the coveted big trophy. Past contenders like “Roma” (2018), which garnered 10 nominations and won three Oscars but lost Best Picture to “Green Book,” and “The Power of the Dog” (2021), which led with 12 nominations but saw Best Picture go to Apple’s “CODA,” illustrate Netflix’s near-decade history of coming close but failing to win the top prize. Even Edward Berger’s German-language “All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022), with seven BAFTAs and four Oscars, ultimately lost Best Picture to “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” A notable anomaly was “Emilia Pérez,” which had 13 Oscar nominations, the most ever for a non-English-language film, before its campaign was decimated by the resurfacing of star Karla Sofía Gascón’s offensive social media posts.

“La Bola Negra” represents a fresh opportunity for Netflix to rewrite its Oscar narrative, offering a deeply Spanish story told by Spanish filmmakers about their own community. However, challenges persist; subtitles and a 160-minute runtime could be hurdles for voters watching screeners, although “Oppenheimer” proved audiences would commit to longer films given sufficient zeitgeist and narrative. Some critics have noted that the film’s ambition occasionally outpaces its execution, leading to an uneven experience. The Academy has also shown a tendency to compartmentalize international films, often awarding the international feature trophy as a consolation prize, a pattern Netflix hopes to break. Sustaining momentum through January without peaking in September will be crucial for the campaign. Current predictions list “La Bola Negra” as a contender for Best Picture, Director (Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo), Supporting Actress (Penélope Cruz), Adapted Screenplay (Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, Alberto Conejero), Production Design, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, and International Feature.