The Venice Film Festival was abuzz Monday night as Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton lit up the red carpet for the premiere of Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door,” which received a staggering 17-minute standing ovation — the longest of this year’s festival.
Following the film’s emotional finale, Almodóvar, clad in a pink suit, shared a celebratory moment with his leading ladies, kissing their cheeks and lifting their arms in victory. The director and his stars descended the stairs of the Sala Grande theater, engaging with fans and extending the applause even further as they basked in the adoration. Moore, dressed in a shimmering gold gown, appeared teary-eyed, while Swinton, in a white Chanel suit, embraced her co-star. The crowd roared “Pedro! Pedro! Pedro!” as the trio savored the moment.
The premiere witnessed other standing ovations at Venice this year, including Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” (12 minutes) and Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” (eight minutes), starring Angelina Jolie.
“The Room Next Door,” Almodóvar’s first English-language film, tells the story of Ingrid (Moore) and Martha (Swinton), two former friends who worked together at a New York magazine. As Ingrid reconnects with Martha, now battling late-stage cancer, the film takes viewers on a journey filled with the director’s signature plot twists, though the characters’ vibrantly styled homes evoke more of Madrid than Manhattan.
Moore and Swinton’s presence at the festival was a high point of the night. Both actresses have deep ties to Venice, with Moore having previously won the best actress award in 2002 for “Far From Heaven,” and Swinton taking home the same honor in 1991 for “Edward II”.
Almodóvar, no stranger to the festival, followed up his 2021 feature Parallel Mothers with “The Room Next Door”. His career with Venice stretches back to 1983’s “Dark Habits” and the award-winning “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” in 1988.
After its festival debut, “The Room Next Door” will be released in theaters on 20th December, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.
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