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Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature film, “The Room Next Door,” stars an Oscar winner Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton – probably Venice Film Festivalis putting the final touches on its impressive lineup ahead of its official launch next week.
“The Room Next Door” is Almodóvar’s follow-up to “Parallel Mothers,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2021 and won the festival’s Volpi Cup for best actress for Penélope Cruz’s performance. According to multiple sources, Almodóvar’s latest film is also expected to be in competition at the festival.
Almodóvar’s New England-set film is, as the director puts it, “the story of a deeply imperfect mother and a resentful daughter who lead separate lives due to a profound misunderstanding.”
Produced by Almodovar’s El Deseo Films, “The Room Next Door” is scheduled for release this year in the U.S., Middle East, India and other territories through Sony Pictures Classics, with Warner Bros. handling distribution in other parts of the world, including the U.K., Spain and Italy.
Warner Bros. Italy did not immediately respond. varietyRequest for comments.
As Previously predicted variety, Now in its 81st year, the Venice Film Festival promises to be a star-studded event, with some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig and Monica Bellucci, set to present highly-anticipated films from the Lido.
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe, will open the Lido Theatre’s out-of-competition film lineup, the festival announced.
“Joker 2,” an edgy musical sequel from Todd Phillips, the 2019 Golden Lion winner, stars Lady Gaga and Phoenix and is seen as a strong contender in the competition, along with Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” in which Jolie plays the lead.
Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ “Queer” is also set to enter the Venice Film Festival’s competition. Daniel Craig plays the alter-ego of a famous counterculture writer, an exiled American immigrant living in Mexico battling heroin addiction. “Outer Banks” star Drew Starkey also stars as a young man with whom the immigrant becomes madly infatuated.
Italy’s competition entries include “A Sicilian Letter” (“Iddu”), a highly anticipated drama about Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro, known as “the last godfather,” directed by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (“A Sicilian Ghost Story”).
Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here,” the Brazilian filmmaker’s first feature in more than a decade, is expected to remain in competition, while Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths” will not be screening at the Lido, nor will Ron Howard’s survival thriller “Eden,” which will screen in Toronto.
As previously announced, Isabelle Huppert will serve as President of the Main Jury.
The 81st Venice Film Festival will run from August 28 to September 7. The full lineup will be announced on July 23.
