Cheltenham Film Festival

On Tuesday 3rd November, the Spanish Department organised a visit to the cinema to watch La Bola Negra, a new film that took part in the Cheltenham Film Festival.

The film follows Federico García Lorca and his unfinished play 'La Bola Negra'. Lorca was killed in August 1936 after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in July, and later so was his lover, Rafael Rodríguez Rápun. The Film follows the perspectives of three characters living in different time periods surrounding the Spanish Civil War.

In Lorca's play, Carlos (the protagonist) navigates a Pre-Civil War Era during which homosexuality was met with fierce social hostility and condemnation. Simultaneously, in the 21st century, Alberto López Azcuna and Teresa Azcuna are the grandson and daughter of Sebastián Azcuna (a deuteragonist in the movie who lived during the Spanish Civil War era).

La Bola Negra presents contrasts between time periods in societal views on homosexuality and a peaceful post-Civil War era, articulating the pains of war and the way in which it destroys us. The true essence of this story, in fact, lies within the constraints of society and how it dictates who we can and cannot love.

With utmost respect for the writers of the film and the work they put in to produce such an incredibly powerful and emotional story, I believe they conveyed a passionate perspective on the main themes of the film.

The survival of Lorca's play is truly a testament that despite adversity, conflict and war, love will always endure and live on through us, in stories, our families and our loved ones who remember us long after we're gone. 

Amara, SFC1