'The Black Ball' crowned Palme frontrunner

World of Reel moved “La Bola Negra,” billed in English as “The Black Ball,” into the center of the Cannes awards conversation on May 21, saying Oscar bloggers at the festival were already treating the film as the Palme d’Or frontrunner. The post described Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s competition title as prestige-style awards fare and said the final call would still rest with the jury led by South Korean director Park Chan-wook. Other late-festival prediction pieces published on May 22 also placed the film in the mix as Cannes entered its closing stretch. The 79th Festival de Cannes is due to hand out its prizes on Saturday, May 23. ### Why did “La Bola Negra” move into the Palme conversation now? May 21 was the point when World of Reel said “The Black Ball” had been “crowned” by Oscar bloggers as the likely Palme winner, a sign that conversation around the film had shifted from premiere reaction to awards forecasting. The site’s write-up framed the movie as a crossover-friendly contender while noting that Cannes juries often make their own choices regardless of pundit chatter. (worldofreel.com) May 22 brought similar prediction-season framing from French outlet Cult, which said the festival had reached the stage where serious bets on the palmarès were possible even with three competition films still left to be seen. Cult separately reviewed “La Bola Negra” as a possible Palme candidate, describing a story that spans a century of Spanish history through three male characters and addresses the repression of homosexuals. (worldofreel.com) ### What, specifically, are commentators saying about the film? World of Reel compared “The Black Ball” to “The Hours,” using that comparison to argue the film resembles an older-school prestige awards play. The same piece called it “gay and Spanish,” language meant to place the film in a recognizable awards-season lane rather than to report any official positioning from Cannes. (cult.news) Cult’s review took a more film-specific approach, saying “La Bola Negra” moves across 100 years of Spanish history and praising what it called bold staging and a strong cast. That description helps explain why the film has become a frequent mention in late-festival predictions, alongside broader attention on the Croisette. (worldofreel.com) ### Who actually decides the Palme d’Or? Park Chan-wook is the president of the jury for the 79th Festival de Cannes, according to the festival’s official announcement. Cannes said Park and his jury will award the 2026 Palme d’Or on Saturday, May 23, succeeding the 2025 winner awarded to Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident.” (cult.news) The festival also published the full jury lineup on May 4, saying Park would be joined by Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga, Paul Laverty, Isaach De Bankolé, Laura Wandel and Diego Céspedes. That means the final result will come from a nine-member jury, not from critics’ polls or blog consensus. (festival-cannes.com) ### Is “La Bola Negra” the only film being talked about? Cult said on May 22 that the race remained open, and other outlets have highlighted additional contenders. Écran Large, for example, has pushed Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaure” as a favorite, underscoring that no single film has locked up the field before the closing ceremony. (festival-cannes.com) TF1 Info also spotlighted Penélope Cruz on the red carpet for “La Bola Negra” during the festival’s late stretch, adding to the film’s visibility even as prediction pieces continued to circulate. Red-carpet prominence and jury outcomes are not the same thing, but both have kept the title in the daily Cannes conversation. ### When will Cannes settle it? (cult.news) Saturday, May 23 is the date Cannes has set for its Closing Ceremony, with the festival saying the event begins at 8:15 p.m. and that the Palme winner will be screened afterward at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. Park Chan-wook and the 2026 jury are scheduled to present the awards that night. (festival-cannes.com) (tf1info.fr)