As an out and proud author who has published a gay romance novel, Spanish actor Milo Quifes can't quite believe his luck at making his screen debut as an actor in Cannes-feted film and Oscar-contender, La Bola Negra.
The sweeping historical fiction is extrapolated from an unfinished fragment by revered Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca and written and directed by Los Javis — Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — and casts Quifes as Carlos, the beating heart behind one of three intertwined stories.
"All those months creating Carlos and La Bola Negra with Los Javis, it was an honour," he tells ABC News. "This opportunity to scratch the surface of an unfinished work, and to bring Lorca's writing to life."
He found resonance in Lorca's writing.
"My belief is that acting is a way to explore myself," Quifes says of recognising the fraught trials of coming out or not. "I could feel all these little things, in reading Lorca, that helped me play Carlos."
Seeing is believing
At school, Quifes studied Lorca alongside other members of Spain's celebrated Generation of '27 writers, including Jorge Guillén and Rafael Albert. But it was only after landing the part of Carlos following six auditions across two months that he set about devouring everything available.
"It was amazing, rediscovering Lorca," he says. "I spent all summer reading the unfinished works, the poetry, the theatre, everything."
And yet all that research couldn't prepare Quifes for his first day on a major film set.
Milo Quifes's character Carlos is devastatingly rejected by the old guard of his father's casino for his rumoured homosexuality. (Supplied)
Quifes's character Carlos is a handsome young man from a well-to-do family in Granada. He has the world at his feet, even as distant drums beat inexorably towards the Spanish Civil War. And yet, all his privilege cannot open one door: that of the luxurious local club, or casino, of which his domineering father is a long-time member.
Why? Because this is 1932, and Carlos's closeted homosexuality, a poorly kept secret, is a black mark against his name in unaccepting times.
On Quifes's first day on set, he was overwhelmed by the throng of cast and crew and dazzled by the baroque-inspired casino set, realised by production designer Roger Bellés, art director Oriol Guardiola and set decorator Judit Ferrer.
"I'm in the middle of that lavish casino set and you cannot imagine all the little details," Quifes says, wide-eyed once more.
"I mean, you read the script, and you imagine that space, but you cannot grasp it until you are actually there. The art team were amazing."
The baroque palace is crowned by a great glass dome from which hangs a glittering crystal chandelier. Elegantly looping brass tracks cup this astonishing space, along which the titular back balls roll, the voting method used to block Carlos's membership.
The 25-year-old novelist and actor Milo Quifes immersed himself in the texts of Lorca in the summer before filming. (Supplied)
It was almost too much, but once Quifes donned his immaculately tailored suit, as visualised by costume designer Ana López Cobos, his confidence grew exponentially.
"As soon as I pulled on that jacket, my back straightened," he says. "From there, it was step-by-step, little-by-little, day-by-day, but I had very good directors, in Los Javis, and a great team around me."
Face the Cruz and dance
The filming took novice actor Quifes from the lofty world of a casino to the astounding beauty of Granada's snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountain range.
He loved it, even if Carlos's stylish suits were hardly suitable attire for diving into snowdrifts.
"Sometimes you have to suffer for your art," he chuckles, thinking back to how freezing he was, shooting take after take, damp and shivering.
"My mind was so chaotic, but you have to focus and get it right. I remember lying in the snow, looking at the sky, and thinking, 'This is amazing.'"
Each of La Bola Negra's three storylines, set in different locations and timeframes, were filmed separately.
Quifes didn't meet many of his fellow cast members until it premiered at Cannes, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and the Queer Palm, with Los Javis taking home best director.
Glenn Close plays a US academic who helps 2017-era queer character Alberto on his research journey. (Supplied)
Quifes was in Madrid when co-star Carlos González was filming a key scene with Glenn Close, but the hectic schedule prevented him from meeting the American legend. Sadly, Close couldn't make the Cannes premiere, so he's still patiently waiting to meet an actor he admires and adores.
"I don't know if she's aware of my existence," he laughs.
You lose some, you win some.
Quifes did get to meet another of his heroes, Spanish superstar Penélope Cruz, when she shot her spectacular club sequence in an abandoned theatre in Sigüenza.
"Penélope was amazing," he beams. "She was very down-to-earth, caring, loving and funny all at the same time."
A film still from La Bola Negra featuring Penelope Cruz. (Supplied: Netflix)
Like Cruz, Quifes also delivers a show-stopping dance number in the movie, revealing it was one of the trickiest days on set.
"I don't have any sense of timing," he says of his clumsy footwork. "So my amazing choreographer Belén Martí Lluch had to teach me how to feel the freedom with my body, and I practised a lot."
It turns out Lluch was the perfect teacher. "We shot that scene three times, but the one that's in the film is my first take."
And the Oscar goes to …
While voting for the Oscars is yet to begin, with the shortlists announced mid-December, the buzz around La Bola Negra is hard to ignore, with the streamer Netflix throwing its campaign muscle behind its horse in the race.
As far as Quifes is concerned, it's too soon to talk awards season potential. "I can't think about that," he insists, covering his eyes bashfully.
It was wild enough going to Cannes with Los Javis, Cruz and co. "I was disassociating."
While he may be modest, Quifes hopes that this is just the beginning, with his passion for acting flourishing on set.
"If I can take this space to ask directors to call me, I will," he says, flashing a wide smile. "Now that I have discovered this world, that makes me so happy, I want to do it again. I want to be this happy again."
La Bola Negra is in cinemas now.