The Toronto International Film Festival handed its most closely watched prize to a Spanish-language ensemble drama on September 20, 2026, when ‘La Bola Negra’ won the festival’s People’s Choice Award. Directed by the Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi and led by Penelope Cruz, the film claimed the audience-voted honor that has become one of the awards season’s most reliable early signals. The victory capped a ten-day run in which the picture built steady word of mouth among festival crowds and pushed its way to the front of a competitive field.
Cruz stars alongside Glenn Close and Miguel Bernardeau in a sweeping story that traces the interconnected lives of three gay men in Spain across several decades. The film premiered earlier in the year at the Cannes Film Festival, then traveled to Toronto, where it drew warm reviews and packed houses. It finished ahead of two named runners-up, Peter Farrelly’s boxing drama ‘I Play Rocky’ and Sian Heder’s disability-rights portrait ‘Being Heumann,’ both of which had their own devoted supporters among voters.
Calvo and Ambrossi were not present to collect the award, but sent a note that was read aloud during the ceremony by festival chief executive Cameron Bailey. ‘So knowing that audiences have connected with it and made it their own is the greatest gift we could receive,’ the directors wrote. Bailey underscored the film’s grassroots momentum during the event, telling attendees that voters ‘came out in great numbers’ to back it.
The result carried a historical footnote. ‘La Bola Negra’ became the first film to win the People’s Choice Award after premiering at Cannes since Ang Lee’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ in 2000. Elsewhere in the festival’s audience voting, the International People’s Choice Award went to ‘Elsinore,’ Simon Stone’s biographical drama starring Andrew Scott, while the Platform competition prize was claimed by Theja Rio’s ‘Angh.’
Toronto’s audience award carries weight well beyond the festival, because its recent winners have repeatedly gone on to become best picture nominees and champions. A Cruz-led film with an openly queer story at its center now enters the fall as a genuine contender, testing whether the wider academy will follow the crowd. For Calvo and Ambrossi, best known in Spain for their television and stage work, the win also marks their emergence as feature filmmakers on the international stage.
