Carlos González says the Javis kept him apart from others on set to help him find his character’s loneliness. The cast describes directors who adapt their approach to each actor while keeping clear authority.
Alberto’s present-day story is linked to his grandfather, who disappeared.
While filming La bola negra, Carlos González says Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi kept him from talking to anyone on set. They wanted the actor to feel the loneliness his character needed.
The film follows gay men through three interlinked stories, spanning the early 20th century and the present, with the Spanish Civil War as a middle chapter.
Milo Quifes plays Carlos, a young man from Granada barred from a casino through the practice known as the black ball. BBC Mundo describes it as a method private clubs used to exclude people they considered unwanted. Álvaro Lafuente, who performs as Guitarricadelafuente, plays Sebastián.
The set was close-knit, but Calvo and Ambrossi remained firmly in charge. González says they adapt their direction to each performer and push actors towards their limits with respect. The directors co-wrote the screenplay with playwright Alberto Conejero, drawing on Federico García Lorca’s unfinished play.
Milo Quifes says he did not see the cast as a defined generation or movement. He felt part of something taking shape around the project. Workdays could feel like time spent with friends, which made the demands of filming easier to bear.
Lafuente says the directors helped him uncover parts of himself that he could bring to the role. He found Ambrossi more precise in his vision and Calvo more expansive. Across the crew, he saw people contributing what they did best.
González leads the contemporary story, while Lafuente and Quifes play the other central roles. Miguel Bernardeau also appears as Rafael, a wounded Republican fighter. Production lasted 12 weeks and took place on real locations.
Bernardeau says he was struck by how Calvo and Ambrossi coordinate their direction. Each watches what the other has said to an actor, then adjusts his timing or approach. He also observed how they organised the crew and singled out the silence and respect around actors’ work on set.
