Penélope Cruz opened up about a terrifying experience on the set of “The Black Ball.” At a Cannes Film Festival press conference hosted earlier today, Cruz revealed she experienced a health scare before shooting a key scene in the film. She received a phone call from her doctor, warning her of a possible brain aneurysm.
“The Black Ball” premiered yesterday at Cannes to a 16-minute ovation, quickly becoming one of the favorites to take the Palm d’Or. Cruz addressed journalists at a press conference, sharing that she received a phone call minutes before shooting her scene, where she plays a cabaret singer.
“And then when we’re about to go out, I was putting on my wig, and they said, ‘Oh, apparently you have some brain aneurysm,’” she said, as reported by Variety. “I thought I was about to die. This is something that was totally surreal in my life.”
© WireImageCruz said that she asked her doctor if it was okay to dance and perform cardio exercise, receiving their approval. “I thought, ‘It’s a total miracle. I have to, I must have this in me,’” she said. She praised the production and the filmmakers for supporting her throughout, and revealed that her doctor’s warning ended up being a false alarm. “You experience these things together, yet despite all this, despite the hardship, you can move forward in life,” she said.
She also discussed the film’s warm reception at the festival, specifically the 16-minute standing ovation, describing it as “one of the strongest, most powerful moments I have ever experienced at the festival.”
More details about ‘The Black Ball’
“The Black Ball” is directed by a Spanish filmmaking duo known as Los Javis, made up of Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, and is described as a “queer epic” inspired by an unfinished piece from Federico Garcia Lorca. The film spans 85 years, specifically in 1932, 1935, and 2017, and trails queer men, their lives, and the different ways in which their sexuality impacts them. It stars Cruz, Glenn Close, the musician Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Lola Dueñas, Carlos González, and more.
“There’s a quote from Federico that says, ‘We must remember for tomorrow.’ That’s why we tell this story, because we want to talk about those who didn’t have a voice, those who couldn’t love, who couldn’t exist, who couldn’t live, who had to stay quiet, and were killed. We have to tell that story so that it doesn’t happen again,” said Calvo in Spanish, as reported by Rolling Stone Spain.
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