Spain and Finland have named their films for the 2027 Oscars, placing Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s La Bola Negra and Markus Lehmusruusu’s The Squirrel in the Best International Feature Film race. Spain selected La Bola Negra after its Cannes success, including a Best Director win, while Finland chose The Squirrel earlier this month. The two selections bring very different stories into the same international contest as countries continue announcing their choices for the 99th Academy Awards.
Spain’s selection gives La Bola Negra a significant new chapter after its strong festival journey. Directed and co-written by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, collectively known as Los Javis, the film connects three stories set in 1932, 1937 and 2017. Its themes include sexuality, desire and historical memory, with the narrative linked to Federico García Lorca and his unfinished play of the same name.
The Lorca connection is central to the film’s identity. La Bola Negra draws from the surviving pages of the playwright’s unfinished work while also incorporating the theatrical work La piedra oscura by Alberto Conejero. The story follows different generations and uses their experiences to explore how personal and collective memories can continue across decades.
The film arrives with considerable festival recognition. Calvo and Ambrossi won Best Director at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and La Bola Negra has since continued its international festival journey. The cast includes Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close. The film is scheduled to open in Spanish cinemas on September 25, before its subsequent release on Movistar Plus.
The release strategy adds another layer to Spain’s campaign. Netflix will bring La Bola Negra to U.S. and Canadian cinemas from October 16 before its December 2 streaming debut. The theatrical release gives the film another route to audiences while its Oscar campaign develops, alongside its continuing festival exposure internationally.
Finland’s choice, meanwhile, takes the Oscar conversation into a very different world. Markus Lehmusruusu’s The Squirrel is an absurd science-fiction story set in a future where nature has become only a memory. Its central character, Pasi, played by Miro Lopperi, is a lonely but kind-hearted designer of artificial animals whose carefully controlled existence changes after he discovers a living squirrel.
The discovery becomes extraordinary because real animals are no longer supposed to exist. Pasi attempts to protect the creature, but the film introduces an unexpected complication when the squirrel becomes depressed in captivity. Through this unusual situation, Lehmusruusu explores ideas about nature, human control, artificial substitutes and the need for genuine connection.
The Finnish Film Foundation confirmed The Squirrel as Finland’s Oscar candidate on September 8. The film is also scheduled for its international premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, on September 20, placing it before international audiences as its awards campaign develops.
Together, the two selections underline the range of stories entering this year’s Best International Feature Film race. La Bola Negra draws on Spanish history, Federico García Lorca’s unfinished work and questions of memory and identity, while The Squirrel uses speculative fiction and an unlikely animal encounter to consider humanity’s relationship with nature.
Neither film has yet secured an Oscar nomination; both must first navigate the Academy’s selection process. The 99th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 14, 2027, in Los Angeles, with the international feature nominees due to be announced on January 21. For now, Spain and Finland have placed their chosen films on the road toward Hollywood, giving the early Oscar race two markedly different European perspectives.
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