Los Javis filmmakers fight fascism and homophobia with ‘La Bola Negra’

Spanish filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known as "Los Javis," explore the intersection of personal identity and historical trauma in their latest film, *La Bola Negra*. The project reconstructs the persecution of gay men during the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship, drawing from the sparse surviving pages of a play by Federico García Lorca. Beyond the historical narrative, the discussion highlights the necessity of reclaiming queer lineage and the role of fiction in fostering empathy for marginalized communities. The directors reflect on their creative synergy, the challenges of maintaining individual identity within a long-term collaborative partnership, and their previous work on the series *Veneno*, which brought trans history to the forefront of Spanish media. Their work serves as a deliberate act of resistance against the systemic erasure of queer history.