From Cannes to Colorado, La Bola Negra can’t stop collecting prizes. The sweeping Spanish-language epic took home the Best Feature prize at the 2026 Denver Film Festival, adding yet another festival honor to its formidable pre-Oscar war chest of awards hardware.
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — known collectively as Los Javis — La Bola Negra shared Best Director honors with Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland on the Croisette where it was snapped up by Netflix, which quickly watched it become one of their strongest Oscar contenders in years.
La Bola Negra‘s Denver win follows its triumphant appearance at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the much-coveted People’s Choice Award, still widely seen as a Best Picture harbinger. The film has also taken top prizes at the Hamptons International Film Festival, as well as the Sydney Film Festival, the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and the Busan International Film Festival.
Meanwhile, another TIFF People’s Choice pick also proved to be a contender with Denver audiences. Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky was the opening night attraction at DFF’s 49th edition and picked up the Audience Award for Narrative Feature. A crowd-pleasing dramatization of Sylvester Stallone’s Herculean efforts to make his 1976 boxing classic Rocky, the film finished as the first runner-up to La Bola Negra in Toronto. I Play Rocky screenwriter Peter Gamble made the trip to the Mile High City to help kick off the festival’s 49th edition, which ran from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1.
“This year’s Denver Film Festival celebrated the best of world cinema, as well as the best from our own backyard,” Matthew Campbell, the festival’s artistic director, observed in a statement obtained by Gold Derby. “The winners and honorees of the 49th Festival represent the very reason we go to the movies: to be challenged, to see ourselves on screen, and to be reminded of all we hold in common. We are proud to honor the achievements of these films and filmmakers, and profoundly grateful to all who continue to join us in fostering fantastic art and sharing the gift of great cinema.”
One year shy of its 50th edition, the festival brought some of the season’s biggest contenders to Denver audiences, including All of a Sudden, Elsinore, Iron Boy, Once Upon a Time in Harlem, and Rose. Additionally, John Leguizamo accepted the John Cassavetes Award for his career achievements — including a potential Best Supporting Actor turn in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey — and additional honors went to D’Arcy Carden, John Cho, and Carrie Coon.
See the complete list of Denver Film Festival winners and honorees below. (Note: Gold Derby served on the True Grit Award jury.)
Audience Awards
Narrative Feature: I Play Rocky, by Peter Farrelly
Documentary Feature: Good Help, by Rebekah Henderson and Lilah Park
Short Film: “We Were Here,” by Pranav Bhasin
Juried Awards
Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film: La Bola Negra, by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo
Special Recognition: Sophie Okonedo, Clarissa
Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary: Whispers in May, by Dongnan Chen, Jjippupmop Qihuo, Mathxiemop Atnyop, Lhithxamop Itgop, and Lhithxamop Itsi
True Grit Award: The River, by Mara Gasbarro Tasker
Special Mention for Emerging Storyteller: Watch You Rise, by Isabella Grace Cohn
Special Mention for Artistic Vision: Ideas of Order, by Erin Espelie
Shorts Competitions
Grand Jury Award: “Hyena,” by Altay Ulan Yang
Special Mention, Live Action Short: “We Were Here,” by Pranav Bhasin
Special Mention, Animation Short: “Because Today Is Saturday,” by Alice Eca Guimaraes
Special Mention, Documentary Short: “Born to Kill,” by Sally Tran
True Grit Short Film Award: “End of Things,” by Bruce Tetsuya
Special Mention: “The Meloneers,” by Brendan Young
Marilyn Marsh Saint-Veltri Award for Best Student Animation Short: “Hunting,” by Lea Favre
Special Mention: “The Undying Pain of Existence,” by Oscar Jacobson
Award Winners and Honorees
John Cassavetes Award: John Leguizamo, The Odyssey
Women+Film Barbara Bridges Inspiration Award: D’Arcy Carden
Excellence in Acting Award: Carrie Coon, The Liberation
Outlaw Award: John Cho, Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother
CinemaQ LaBahn Ikon Film Award: Indya Moore
Breakthrough Director Award: Liz Sargent, Take Me Home
Excellence in Sound Design: David Acord, Behemoth!
Rising Star Award: Fred Hechinger, Actor, A Long Winter
Stan Brakhage Vision Award: Michael Gitlin
Rare Pearl Award: Brian, by Will Ropp
Music on Film — Film on Music Documentary Grant Awards (MOFFOM) 2026 Grant Recipients
Asha Puthli: Taking Space
Holding on to Water
