Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
A big film festival happens every year in Toronto, Canada. It is called TIFF.
This year, a movie called “La Bola Negra” won the festival's top prize. In English, its name means “The Black Ball.”
The movie stars famous actress Penelope Cruz. Another famous actress, Glenn Close, is also in the film.
This is the first time ever that a Netflix movie has won this prize. The movie will be in theaters in October and on Netflix in December.
- festival
- A special event where many films or other art are shown.
- film
- A movie, a story shown as moving pictures.
- movie
- Another word for a film.
- actress
- A woman who acts in films, TV shows, or plays.
- prize
- An award given for doing something well.
- theater
- A place where people go to watch movies.
- famous
- Known by many people.
- win
- To get first place or a prize.
Level 2 — Elementary
The 51st Toronto International Film Festival closed this week by awarding its People's Choice Award, one of the strongest predictors of future Oscar winners, to “La Bola Negra,” or “The Black Ball” in English.
It marks the first time in the festival's history that a Netflix film has won the top prize. The Spanish language drama stars Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close, alongside Spanish singer Guitarricadelafuente.
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the 160 minute film follows three gay men across three different periods of Spanish history: 1932, during the Second Spanish Republic, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, and 2017, in modern Spain.
The film first premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where its directors won the award for Best Director. Netflix will release “La Bola Negra” in theaters on October 16 before it begins streaming on December 2.
- predictor
- Something that indicates what is likely to happen in the future.
- drama
- A serious story performed as a film, play, or TV show.
- director
- The person in charge of making a film's creative decisions.
- competition
- A contest in which entries are judged against one another.
- premiere
- The first public showing of a film.
- era
- A period of time in history with its own character.
- honor
- A prize or mark of respect given for achievement.
- stream
- To watch or listen to content over the internet, rather than downloading it.
Level 3 — Intermediate
The 51st Toronto International Film Festival concluded on Sunday by handing its People's Choice Award, historically one of the most reliable Oscar predictors on the festival circuit, to “La Bola Negra” (“The Black Ball”), making it the first Netflix production ever to claim the honor.
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the sprawling 160 minute Spanish language drama traces the lives of three gay men across three pivotal eras: the Second Spanish Republic of 1932, the Spanish Civil War of 1937, and contemporary Spain in 2017. The cast includes Penelope Cruz, Glenn Close, and Spanish singer Guitarricadelafuente.
The film arrived in Toronto with considerable momentum, having premiered in competition at Cannes in May, where Calvo and Ambrossi shared the festival's Best Director prize. Cruz was also honored separately at this year's TIFF with a Special Tribute Award, recognizing her broader body of work.
Netflix, which has chased a genuine Oscar contender for years without ever winning TIFF's top audience prize, will give “La Bola Negra” a theatrical release on October 16 ahead of its December 2 streaming debut, a platform strategy widely read as a deliberate effort to qualify the film for and campaign seriously in this year's awards season.
- circuit (film)
- The network of festivals that films travel through before wide release.
- momentum
- The strength or force that keeps an effort or trend moving forward.
- contemporary
- Belonging to the present time.
- pivotal
- Of crucial importance in relation to the development of something.
- contender
- A person or thing competing seriously for a title or prize.
- campaign (verb)
- To actively promote something, such as a film during awards season.
- qualify
- To meet the necessary conditions or requirements for something.
- sprawling
- Spreading out over a large area or a long span, often used for expansive stories.
Level 4 — Advanced
When “La Bola Negra” (“The Black Ball”) claimed the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award on Sunday, it did more than cap a triumphant festival run, it handed Netflix a prize the streamer had chased for years and never secured, one whose predictive power for the Academy Awards makes it arguably the single most consequential honor a film can win outside the Oscars themselves.
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi from a screenplay co written with Alberto Conejero, the 160 minute epic threads together three eras of Spanish history, the fractious optimism of the Second Republic in 1932, the brutality of the Civil War in 1937, and a contemporary 2017 Spain still metabolizing that inheritance, through the lives of three gay men whose stories the filmmakers deliberately refuse to resolve into a single tidy arc.
The win extends a run of momentum that began at Cannes in May, where Calvo and Ambrossi shared the festival's Best Director prize, and continued through a TIFF where Cruz, one of the film's stars, was separately feted with the festival's Special Tribute Award for her broader body of work, a rare instance of a single actress receiving both a competitive juried nod and a career honor within the same edition.
Netflix's release calendar, a theatrical run beginning October 16 ahead of a December 2 streaming premiere, reads as an unambiguous signal of awards intent rather than a routine distribution decision, positioning “La Bola Negra” as the platform's most serious Oscar contender yet at a moment when streamers continue to face skepticism from parts of the industry about whether films built for the small screen deserve equal footing in the conversation.
- consequential
- Having significant effects or importance.
- fractious
- Difficult to control or deal with; marked by conflict and disagreement.
- metabolize (figurative)
- To process and absorb something fully, often used of a society digesting difficult history.
- feted
- Honored or celebrated, typically with a special event.
- juried
- Judged or awarded by a panel of appointed judges, as opposed to a general audience vote.
- unambiguous
- Having only one clear meaning; not open to more than one interpretation.
- footing
- A position or status relative to others, often implying equal standing.
- distribution
- The process of making a film available to audiences, whether in theaters or through streaming.
.jpg%3Fwidth%3D800&w=3840&q=75)
Talk about this article with KatePractice this story's vocabulary in a real spoken conversation with your AI tutor