Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi have achieved a milestone in Spanish cinema by winning the award for best director at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Their film La bola negra shared the award with Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski. The film competed in the official section alongside names such as Pedro Almod贸var and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, confirming the weight of the proposal.
The technology behind the filming of La bola negra 馃幀
To achieve the film's oppressive atmosphere, the technical team combined low-consumption LED lighting with new-generation anamorphic lenses. Post-production was carried out using DaVinci Resolve, applying a color correction inspired by 1970s cinema. The film was shot on 35mm, although the night sequences required Arri Alexa digital sensors to capture details in extreme shadows. The sound was mastered in Dolby Atmos.
The making of: when filming costs more than an apartment in Madrid 馃
Production had to be halted for two weeks because the main location, a large house in Toledo, turned out to be inhabited by a colony of protected bats. The Javis, instead of complaining, decided to include the animals in the footage. Now, the bats have an agent and are demanding a VIP pass for the premiere. Meanwhile, on set, someone asked if the next film could be shot on a soundstage without protected wildlife.