La Bola Negra wins TIFF People’s Choice Award

moviesSep 20, 202618173

La Bola Negra, a queer period drama directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, won the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award. The film, set in 1932, 1937 and 2017 and following interconnected gay men, premiered at Cannes where Peter Bradshaw called it “handsomely produced, lovingly detailed and confidently constructed.” After a competitive bidding war following its Cannes debut, Netflix acquired the rights and will release the film later this year. La Bola Negra is the first foreign-language winner of TIFF’s top audience prize since 2011’s Where Do We Go Now?. This award has a track record as an Oscar bellwether; past People’s Choice winners include Green Book, 12 Years a Slave, Nomadland, Slumdog Millionaire and The King’s Speech. TIFF named Sylvester Stallone biopic I Play Rocky and disability activism drama Being Heumann as runners-up. For the second year running TIFF also handed an international people’s choice award, with British 1980s Aids drama Elsinore taking that prize.

Matthew Hodson

@matthewhodson.bsky.social

The Spanish gay epic La Bola Negra has just won the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice award - a solid predictor of Oscar glory. I can’t wait to see this.

A still from La Bola Negra featuring handsome men in white vests.

5319d ago

Richard Lawson

@rilaws.bsky.social

La Bola Negra now has the Cannes best director prize and TIFF People’s Choice Award. She’s running!

1719d ago

Gregory Ellwood

@gregoryellwood.bsky.social

The Javis' La Bola Negra wins the Toronto International Film Festival 2026 People's Choice Award while Elsinore takes the International category. La Bola Negra may be the Netflix box office hit no one was expecting. All the winners: theplaylist.net/la-bola-negr...

919d ago

Pau Brunet

@pauboxoffice.bsky.social

‘LA BOLA NEGRA’ acaba de ganar el TIFF People’s Choice Award. Este premio suele traducirse en una sana carrera en la temporada de premios. #TIFF26. 22 películas ganadoras de este premio han sido nominadas a la mejor película en los Oscar. ¡#LaBolaNegra está imparable!

1419d ago

Sight and Sound magazine

@sightsoundmag.bsky.social

La Bola Negra, from directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, has won the People’s Choice Award at Toronto International Film Festival. Read Elisabet Cabeza’s review of the film here #TIFF26 www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-so...

719d ago

Corey Atad

@coreyatad.com

#TIFF26 is just about done (going to the awards press conference tomorrow, and maaaaaay catch Diary of a Chambermaid or the Midnight Madness People's Choice winner, if i can get tickets to one), so i'm lying in bed and throwing on some pure joy

1120d ago

ᴛᴏᴍᴀꜱ

@cinemagay.bsky.social

Overjoyed to learn that my wish came true! Congratulations to La Bola Negra for winning TIFF's top prize!! 😭❤️ A film that so openly and beautifully celebrates queerness and our histories absolutely deserves this achievement. Thank you, Toronto!!

1119d ago

🍺Donald Clarke 🎥

@donaldclarke.bsky.social

Look, I know you’re not interested in this stuff. But, for what it’s worth, LA BOLA NEGRA building on Cannes buzz as it takes TIFF People’s Choice. Only two winners in the last 19 years have failed to get a best picture nomination.

619d ago

🍺Donald Clarke 🎥1

The ones that lost are interesting. Homer Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now? at an uncharacteristically unOscary TIFF in 2011. And The Life of Chuck somehow beating runners up Emilia Perez and Anora in 2024. Yes…

Wanda Opalińska1

I’m interested! And thank you - had no idea that TIFF People’s Choice correlated so strongly with Best Picture

Frances Meh

@francesmeh.reviews

i also saw 8 countries' international oscar submissions which is cool Belgium (Coward) Bulgaria (The Dreamed Adventure) France (Minotaur) Hungary (Silent Friend - at TIFF 2025) Japan (All of a Sudden) Nepal (Elephants in the Fog) South Korea (Possible Love) Spain (La Bola Negra)

819d ago