Pedro Almodovar wins Golden Lion at Venice pageant

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar won Venice’s Golden Lion award on Saturday for the film “The Room Next Door.”

The film received an 18-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival earlier in the week.

What do we know about the award?

Almodovar was awarded a lifetime achievement award at Venice in 2019 for his Spanish-language films. He also won an Oscar in the best foreign language category for the 1999 film “All About My Mother.”

“The Room Next Door” is Almodovar’s first English-language feature, and touches on euthanasia and climate change.

After collecting his prize, Almodovar said euthanasia should not be blocked by politics and religion.

“I believe that saying goodbye to this world cleanly and with dignity is a fundamental right of every human being,” he said.

He also thanked Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore for their performances in the movie.

“This award really belongs to them, it’s a film about two women and the two women are Julianne and Tilda,” he said.

Other awards at Venice

The Grand Jury Prize, seen as a runnerup prize to the Golden Lion, went to Italian director Maura Delpero for her World War II drama “Vermiglio.”

Australian actor Nicole Kidman won the best actress award for her role in the film “Babygirl,” where she plays a CEO who has an affair with a young intern.

France’s Vincent Lindon won the best actor award for “The Quiet Son,” a French-language drama that deals with the topic of far-right radicalization.

Brady Corbet of the United States won the best director award for the film “The Brutalist,” which recounts the story of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who moves to the United States.

sdi/sms (AFP, Reuters, dpa)