Spanish queer drama La Bola Negra has been awarded this year’s people’s choice award at the Toronto film festival. The film, which explores the lives of interconnected gay men in 1932, 1937, and 2017, premiered earlier this year at the Cannes film festival.
Following its Cannes debut, Netflix secured the rights to La Bola Negra after a competitive bidding process, with plans for a release later in 2026. Directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi expressed that connecting with Toronto audiences in this manner was “the greatest gift we could receive.”
This marks the first time a foreign language film has won the award since the Lebanese drama Where Do We Go Now? in 2011. The Toronto people's choice award has historically been a predictor of Oscar success, with previous winners including Best Picture recipients such as Green Book and Nomadland.
In other festival news, the British 80s-set Aids drama Elsinore was named the winner of the international people’s choice award for 2026.