La bola negra has won San Sebastián's top audience prize in Perlak. The Javis' film scored 9.4 from viewers and secured a €50,000 award for its distributor.
After its Friday premiere, La bola negra received a 9.4 audience rating at the Festival de Cine de San Sebastián 2026. That score secured the Premio del Público Ciudad de San Sebastián for best film. Its distributor will receive €50,000.
The prize comes from Perlak, the festival's audience competition sponsored by the city council. Viewers choose among the films shown in the section. A professional jury does not make the decision.
The Perlak prize is decided by viewers at the first public screening of each competing film, rather than by a professional jury.
The margin was narrow. Naza finished behind with a score of 9.29.
The verdict is in.
Naza also received the prize for best European title. The British film by Israeli authors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor deals with the killing of civilians in Gaza. That award carries €20,000.
Both sums go to the films' distributors, not directly to the directors. The Festival de San Sebastián says the €50,000 and €20,000 awards are gross amounts. The main prize is intended for the film's distributor in Spain.
EFE independently confirmed “La bola negra” as the winner with a 9.40 score after the audience voting closed on Friday evening. “Naza”, a British film by Israeli authors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, received the European-title award.
Perlak also featured films that had already drawn attention at the previous Cannes festival. The selection included Fatherland by Pawel Pawlikowski and Fjord by Cristian Mungiu. La bola negra took the highest public score reported by the festival. It won in a strong international field.
The film had attracted interest before its Friday opening. Earlier coverage noted that attention. Spanish outlets including RTVE and Público had also reported on its strong festival reception before San Sebastián. The public vote now gives that interest a clear result and a financial benefit for its distributor.
That result matters.
La ilusión de un verano sin fin by Argentine filmmaker Alessandra Sanguinetti won the Premio de la Juventud. Younger viewers therefore gave a separate award, while Naza took the European title distinction.
Los Javis will collect the award at the Festival's closing gala. The ceremony falls during the first weekend of the film's run in Spanish cinemas. The timing puts the festival result close to its arrival at the domestic box office.
La bola negra leaves Perlak with a 9.4 audience score and a €50,000 distribution award. It also has the top public prize at the 74th festival. The result gives the film its clearest concrete boost before its theatrical release.
