“The Room Next Door” wins Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival

Pedro Almodóvar’s film “The Room Next Door” won the Golden Lion at the 81st Venice Film Festival. The Spanish director’s first English-language feature film took home the top prize at the 2024 awards ceremony of the international film festival on Saturday. Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore play friends who reunite after many years.

Director Maura Delepero’s “Vermiglio” won the Silver Lion for the Grand Jury Prize, while Brady Corbet won the Silver Lion for Best Director for “The Brutalist,” Dea Kulumbegashvili won the Special Jury Prize for “April,” and Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega won Best Screenplay for Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here.” The Volpi Cups for Best Actor and Best Actress went to Vincent Lindon for “The Quiet Son” and Nicole Kidman for “Baby Girl,” respectively. (Kidman was unable to attend the show due to the death of her mother, so director Halina Reijn read a statement.)

The winners in the competition category were chosen by the jury chaired by Isabelle Huppert.

In the Horizons category, chosen by a jury chaired by Debra Granik, winners included “The New Year That Never Came” (best picture), Sarah Friedland (best director, “Familiar Touch”), Francesco Gheghi (best actor, “Familiar Touch”), Kathleen Chalfant (best actress, “Familiar Touch”) and Scandar Copti’s screenplay for “Happy Holidays.”

The ceremony moved at a pleasant pace, with the Venice Immersive festival followed by Venice Classics, where Nanni Moretti’s “Ecce Bombo” won best restored film and Alexandre O. Philippe’s “Chain Reaction,” which chronicles the influence of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” on five filmmakers, won best documentary on film. The Luigi de Laurentiis Award for best first feature film also went to Friedland’s “Familiar Touch.”

See below for the full list of winners.

The winners of the 81st Venice Film Festival

COMPETITION
Golden Lion for Best Film
Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize “Vermiglio”, Maura Delepero
Silver Lion for Best Director Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
Special Jury Prize “April”, Dea Kulumbegashvili
Best Screenplay Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, “Ainda Estou Aqui” (“I’m Still Here”)
Volpi Cup for Best Actress Nicole Kidman, “Baby Girl”
Volpi Cup for Best Actor Vincent Lindon, “Playing with fire”
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor Paul Kircher, “Their Children After Them”

HORIZONS
Best Film “The New Year That Never Came,” Bogdan Muresanu
Best Director Sarah Friedland, “The Familiar Touch”
Special Jury Prize “One of those days when Hemme dies”, Murat Firatoglu
Best Actress Kathleen Chalfant, “The Familiar Touch”
Best Actor Francesco Gheghi, “Family”
Best Screenplay “Happy Holidays”, Scandar Copti
Best Short Film “Who loves the sun”, Arshia Shakiba

LION OF THE FUTURE
Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best First Feature Film “Familiar Touch,” Sarah Friedland

EXTRA HORIZONS
Audience Award — Armani Beauty “Shahed (The Witness)”, Nader Saeivar

VENICE CLASSICS
Best Documentary on Cinema “Chain Reactions”, Alexandre O. Philippe
Best Restored Film “Ecce Bombo”, Nanni Moretti

IMMERSIVE VENICE
Grand Jury Prize “Ito Meikyu”, Boris Labbé
Special Jury Prize “The Planet of Oto”, Gwenaël François
Achievement Award “Impulse: Playing with Reality”, Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla

DAYS OF THE AUTHORIZED (previously announced)
GdA Director’s Award “Manas”, Marianna Brennand
Audience Award “Taxi Monamour”, Ciro De Caro
Europa Cinemas Label Award “Alpha”, Jan-Willem van Ewijk

CRITICS WEEK (previously announced)
Grand Prix “Don’t cry, butterfly”, Dương Diệu Linh
Special mention “No Sleep Until,” Alexandra Simpson
Audience Award “Paul and Paulette Take a Bath” Jethro Massey
Verona Film Club Award for the most innovative film “Don’t cry, butterfly”, Dương Diệu Linh
Mario Serandrei – Hotel Saturnia Award for the best technical contribution “From the terroir”, Michael Premo
Best Short Film “The Things My Best Friend Lost,” Marta Innocenti
Best Director (Short Film) “Nero Argento”, Francesco Manzato
Best Technical Contribution (Short Film) “At least I’ll do 8,294,400 pixels,” Marco Talarico