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Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close star in Spanish civil war gay drama at Cannes

France24 · 🇫🇷 public France · · 81 words · By Video by Eve JACKSON
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What to know about Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close star in Spanish civil war gay drama at Cannes

Penélope Cruz leads 'La Bola Negra', the new film from the creators of 'La Mesías', set partly during the Spanish Civil War and following three gay men across generations as they navigate desire, repression and inherited trauma.

Claims checked 7
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left12%
Center76%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Penélope Cruz leads 'La Bola Negra', the new film from the creators of 'La Mesías', set partly during the Spanish Civil War and following three gay men across generations as they navigate desire, repression and inherited trauma.

Why it matters

Glenn Close also stars in the ambitious Spanish-language drama.

Common ground

Meanwhile Lukas Dhont returns to Cannes after 'Close' with 'Coward', a First World War story questioning what courage really means – fighting in battle, or daring to live openly as yourself.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.france24.com/en/video/20260521-pen%C3%A9lope-cruz-and-glenn-close-st…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified 2
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Claim 1: “'Coward' [is] a First World War story”
VERIFIED
The Mubi acquisition report explicitly states that 'Coward' is set in the midst of WWI.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The war aims of the First World War were formulated after the conflict began, reflecting the territorial, political, and economic objectives pursued by the belligerent states. Governments and public o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_aims_of_the_First_World_Wa…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — World War I, or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Major …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for the two major international conflicts that occurred during the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_war
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “Penélope Cruz leads 'La Bola Negra'”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including Wikipedia and news reports, confirm Penélope Cruz stars in 'La Bola Negra'.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Antonio de la Torre Martín (born 18 January 1968) is a Spanish actor and journalist. He is the actor with most nominations overall to the Goya Awards. He won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_de_la_Torre_(actor)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Penélope Cruz (born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Woody Allen comedy-drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). She is the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penélope_Cruz_filmography
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Black Ball (Spanish: La bola negra) is a 2026 drama film directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, from a screenplay they co-wrote with Alberto Conejero. Inspired by the unfinished work of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Ball_(film)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “Lukas Dhont returns to Cannes after 'Close' with 'Coward'”
CORROBORATED
Mubi and other reports confirm Lukas Dhont's film 'Coward' is in competition at Cannes following his previous success with 'Close'.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2024. American filmmaker and actress Greta Gerwig served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker Sean Baker won…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Cannes_Film_Festival
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival is taking place from 12 to 23 May 2026. South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will serve as jury president for the main competition. Hartland Villa designed the of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Cannes_Film_Festival
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lukas Dhont (Dutch: [ˈlukɑz ˈdɔnt]; born 11 June 1991) is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. His debut feature film, Girl, premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Caméra d'…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukas_Dhont
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “'La Bola Negra' [is] the new film from the creators of 'La Mesías'”
CORROBORATED
Variety and other web results confirm the film is by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who are the creators of 'La Mesías'.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Black Ball (Spanish: La bola negra) is an upcoming drama film directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, from a screenplay they co-wrote with Alberto Conejero.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Ball_(film)
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web search NEUTRAL — “La Bola Negra” is written, directed and produced by Spanish filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. More from Variety.Elástica will release “La bola negra” in cinemas in Spain. Goodfellas handle…
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/glenn-cl…
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web search NEUTRAL — “La bola negra” will premiere exclusively in cinemas in 2026 before arriving on Movistar Plus+ sometime later.After the creative adventure of ‘La Mesías,’ this project represents a bold next step in t…
https://www.aol.com/entertainment/pen-lope-cruz-star-los-150…
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Claim 5: “Glenn Close also stars in the ambitious Spanish-language drama [La Bola Negra]”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Variety and other news reports, confirm Glenn Close has joined the cast of 'La Bola Negra'.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning five decades on screen and stage, she has received numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Close
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer-related films released in 2026. It contains theatrically released films that deal with important gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or q…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBTQ-related_films_of…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Black Ball (Spanish: La bola negra) is a 2026 drama film directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, from a screenplay they co-wrote with Alberto Conejero. Inspired by the unfinished work of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Ball_(film)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “'La Bola Negra' [follows] three gay men across generations”
CORROBORATED
Both the Unifrance synopsis and a Cannes review confirm the plot follows three queer/gay men across three different generations/eras.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Contents. La bola negra. Synopsis. LA BOLA NEGRA tells the story of three men whose lives are intimately connected through desire, pain and inheritance, across three different eras - 1932, 1937, and 2…
https://en.unifrance.org/movie/64855/la-bola-negra
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Black Ball (Spanish: La bola negra) is an upcoming drama film directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, from a screenplay they co-wrote with Alberto Conejero.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Ball_(film)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — CANNES – Three queer men connected across time. Three storylines intertwined.This is the crux of Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo‘s ambitious new drama “La Bola Negra (The Black Ball),” a world premie…
https://theplaylist.net/la-bola-negra-the-black-ball-review-…
verified
Claim 7: “'La Bola Negra' [is] set partly during the Spanish Civil War”
VERIFIED
The Unifrance synopsis explicitly states the film covers three eras, including 1937, which is during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eugenio Fernández Granell (28 November 1912 – 24 October 2001), recognised as the last Spanish surrealist, was an artist, professor, musician and writer. As a political activist in the early 20th cent…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenio_Granell
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the history of motion pictures, many films have been set in Madrid or a fictionalized version thereof. The list that follows is sorted by the year the film was released.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_set_in_Madrid
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alberto Conejero (born 8 July 1998) is Spanish playwright and writer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Conejero
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.