Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s Spanish historical epic/melodrama “La Bola Negra” has won the top prize of the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto <a href="https://cinemamix360.com/2026/09/20/tyler-film-festival-2026-showcases-independent-films-breaks-ticket-sales-record/" title="Tyler <a href="https://cinemamix360.com/2026/09/20/la-bola-negra-wins-2026-toronto-international-film-festival-peoples-choice-award/" title="'La Bola Negra' Wins 2026 Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award”>Film Festival 2026 showcases independent films, breaks ticket sales record”>Film Festival.
The first Cannes world premiere title to win this prize since Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in 2000, the story of the film spans 1932, 1937, and 2017 as it explores the intertwined lives of three men bound by a shared thread of desire, sexuality, enduring pain and the lasting weight of their complex legacies.
In addition, Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky” and Sian Heder’s “Being Heumann” took the runner-up spots. The International People’s Choice Award went to the Andrew Scott-led “Elsinore”.
The People’s Choice Award is now considered the “starting gun” for the year’s Oscars race, with at least two of the three winners/runners-up each year since 2021 scoring Best Picture nominations.
Last year, Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” took the top honour with Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” and Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” as runner-ups. Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” took the International People’s Choice.
Also awarded this year – the Documentary People’s Choice winner was “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been” while The Midnight Madness People’s Choice winner was “Ladies And Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney”.
Netflix releases “La Bola Negra” in cinemas on October 16th ahead of a December 4th premiere on the service.
