Queer Drama “La Bola Negra” Wins in Toronto

Three interwoven life stories about love, desire, and social oppression captivated audiences in Toronto as the Spanish drama “La Bola Negra” by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi was named the winner at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sunday.

The film follows three gay men across different eras of Spain, from the era around the Civil War to the present day. Their fates are connected to the legacy of the poet Federico García Lorca and one of his final unfinished works. Lorca, whose writings repeatedly explored themes of repressed identity and sexuality, was killed by fascists in 1936.

In Germany, “La Bola Negra” is slated to hit theaters on November 19, 2026.

Award already at Cannes

For “La Bola Negra,” TIFF marks the film’s second major festival success of the year: in May, Calvo and Ambrossi were honored at the Cannes Film Festival with the Best Director prize.

At the TIFF ceremony, the two directors were not in attendance, but a personal message was read aloud. “It is a deeply personal film, but it also carries a message about how important and necessary it is to express who you are,” Calvo and Ambrossi explained. “Knowing that audiences identify with it and make the film their own is the greatest gift we could receive.”

“I Play Rocky” in second place
Placed second in the People’s Choice Award was Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky.” The film revisits the then-unknown Sylvester Stallone and his stubborn fight to sell his screenplay about the boxer Rocky Balboa only if he could play the lead himself.

Third place went to “Being Heumann” from Oscar-winner Siân Heder (“CODA”). The biopic, starring Ruth Madeley and Mark Ruffalo, centers on the influential U.S. disability-rights activist Judy Heumann and opened the festival.

Andrew Scott shines as a dying Hamlet actor

The International People’s Choice Award went to Simon Stones’s “Elsinore.” In it, Andrew Scott plays Ian Charleson, a Scottish actor who, despite his AIDS diagnosis, performed Hamlet on a London stage in the late 1980s. In the rankings that followed were Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love” and Hur Jin-ho’s “The Assassin(s).”

As best documentary, audiences chose “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been” by Barry Avrich. The film traces the long-overlooked singer’s career, who began in a church choir and later contributed to many of the biggest 1960s hits without always receiving credit. The Midnight Madness audience prize went to Matthew Rankin’s “Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney.”

Jury prizes at TIFF
In addition to the audience prizes, TIFF also handed out jury awards. The Platform Prize went to Theja Rio for the Indian production “Angh.” This prize carries added significance this year: for the first time, a non-English-language winning film can directly qualify for the Oscar race as Best International Feature.

The Canadian cinema community was honored as well. Cody Lightning’s “Smudge the Blades,” a film about an Indigenous hockey team in northern Alberta, won for Best Canadian Emerging Talent Production. The Best Canadian Feature went to the coming‑of‑age comedy “Sunburn.”

Over the past eleven days, TIFF showcased 294 films from 72 countries. Unlike festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, or Venice, TIFF does not select its winners with a jury; instead, audiences vote for their favorites. (Note: TIFF’s coverage reflects the festival’s audience-driven awards.)