Which gay film are you looking forward to the most: La Bola Negra or Elsinore?
Credit: Anthony Dickenson / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Because apparently, we have reached the wonderful stage of the year where queer cinema is giving us choices, and both choices come with excellent casts, serious festival buzz, and the very real possibility that you will leave the theater emotionally altered.
Both films have already made waves during their festival premieres, with La Bola Negra taking home the People’s Choice Award and Elsinore taking home the International People’s Choice Awards, both at the Toronto International Film Festival. Their official trailers are now out, so naturally, it is time to investigate which one has piqued your interest.
La Bola Negra Is Bringing the Yearning
First up, we have La Bola Negra, the Spanish queer drama from filmmaking duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, collectively known as Los Javis.
The film recently won the People’s Choice Award at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, adding another major accolade after its Cannes run, where the directors won Best Director and the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or.
And the premise? Oh, gays, prepare yourselves.
La Bola Negra follows three interconnected stories involving gay men across three different periods of Spanish history: 1932, 1937, and 2017. Across those timelines, the film explores love, desire, identity, repression, and the ways queer lives can remain connected across generations.
Translation: yearning.
We are talking forbidden gay romance, longing, complicated identities, meaningful glances, heartbreak, and enough emotional devastation to have you staring dramatically through a rainy window afterward.
The cast is also stacked, with Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Julio Torres, Penélope Cruz, and Glenn Close.
La Bola Negra opens theatrically on October 16, 2026, before heading to Netflix.
READ: From ‘Elite’ to ‘La Bola Negra’: Miguel Bernardeau is Back
Elsinore Is Coming for Your Feelings
Credit: Anthony Dickenson / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Then there is Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott, who apparently has decided that his specialty is making queer audiences feel approximately 17 different emotions at once. Scott plays Scottish actor Ian Charleson during the final months of Charleson’s life, as he prepares for and performs Hamlet at London’s National Theatre in 1989 while living with AIDS.
The film centers on an extraordinary artist confronting mortality while continuing to pursue his craft. Charleson’s performance becomes more than simply another role: it becomes an act of courage, honesty, and connection for the people around him.
Credit: Anthony Dickenson / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
And if Andrew Scott portraying that journey wasn’t already enough to make us reach for the tissues, look at the supporting cast: Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, David Dawson, Matthew Beard, Joe Locke, Monica Dolan, Juliet Stevenson, Peter Mullan, and more.
Elsinore also took home the International People’s Choice Award at TIFF, giving the festival two audience-winning queer films to obsess over.
It arrives in theaters November 20, 2026.
READ: Heartstopper’s Joe Locke Joins Forces With Andrew Scott in Gay History Biopic
So… Which One Are You Seeing?
And now we have a question. Do you want the sweeping, multigenerational Spanish queer drama with forbidden love and generations of gay longing? Or do you want Andrew Scott embodying a legendary actor confronting mortality, art, love, and the AIDS crisis?
Honestly, this feels less like choosing between two movies and more like choosing which emotional experience you would like to have first.
The trailers are out. The festival audiences have spoken. The casts are stacked.
Now it’s your turn, gays.
Are you watching La Bola Negra or Elsinore first?