Venice Film Festival: Pedro Almodóvar's 'The Room Next Door' receives an epic 18-minute standing ovation

Oscar winners Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore dazzled at the Venice Film Festival, where their latest film, ‘The Room Next Door’, earned an extraordinary 18-minute standing ovation, the festival’s longest so far.

As the film concluded, the Spanish director kissed Swinton and Moore on the cheeks and lifted their arms like victorious boxers. He then descended the stairs with his new muses, prolonging the ovation by shaking hands with fans in the theatre.

Swinton wore a white Chanel suit, while Moore wore a shimmering gold gown. Moore appeared misty-eyed as Almodóvar — clad in a cotton-candy pink suit — relished the applause, with the crowd chanting, ‘Pedro! Pedro! Pedro!’

Almodóvar seemed to wave individually to each fan in the Sala Grande theatre during the rapturous applause.

The applause for The Room Next Door has surpassed the other major standing ovations at the festival so far: Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist (12 minutes), Pablo Larraín’s Maria (eight minutes), starring Angelina Jolie as opera legend Maria Callas, and Justin Kurzel’s The Order (seven minutes), a 1980s crime thriller featuring Jude Law.

In this highly anticipated film, Julianne Moore plays Ingrid, a best-selling author who reconnects with her old friend Martha, portrayed by Tilda Swinton. Martha, a former war correspondent, is diagnosed with cancer, adding emotional depth to their story. The cast also features Alessandro Nivola, Juan Diego Botto, Raúl Arévalo, Melina Matthews, and Victoria Luengo.

More about ‘The Room Next Door’

This is Pedro Almodóvar’s first full-length English-language film, following his 2020 short The Human Voice, which also starred Swinton and premiered in Venice. The movie is an adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s novel What Are You Going Through.

During the Venice press conference, Almodóvar explained his decision to make a film in English as a way to ‘start a new era,’ finding the ideal opportunity in Nunez’s novel. He noted that the language posed no challenges for Swinton and Moore, whom he described as ‘a festival of two wonderful actresses’ who captured the story’s tone perfectly.

Almodóvar emphasized the film’s exploration of themes like euthanasia, the state of the planet, and human evolution.

Warner Bros. has secured the film's distribution rights for key international markets, including Spain, Italy, the UK, Germany, and Latin America, while Sony Pictures Classics will manage distribution in North America, the Middle East, India, and other regions. The film is set for a domestic release on December 20.

After its Venice premiere, the film will be featured as the Centerpiece selection at the 62nd New York Film Festival, solidifying its significance as a major cinematic event.

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