For Penélope Cruz, Federico García Lorca is not simply a name in the history of Spanish literature. He is a presence that has followed her since she was studying acting, a writer whose work she has continued to return to and whose unfinished La bola negra has now become the inspiration for one of the most ambitious Spanish films of the year. At the Toronto Film Festival, Cruz described Lorca as “the most modern poet.” That connection gives La bola negra, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, a particular significance for the actress. The film links three men and three different eras through sexuality, desire, pain and inheritance, drawing on one of Lorca’s unfinished works. It also confronts the historical silencing of homosexuality and the ways in which shame and fear can be inherited across generations.





