The 81st Venice Film Festival concluded on Saturday, following a grand award ceremony. Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was honoured with the coveted Golden Lion for The Room Next Door , which starred Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. “This is my first movie in English but the spirit is Spanish,” the Spanish filmmaker said in his acceptance speech.
Almodóvar was last awarded an honorary one in 2019. Meanwhile, director Brady Corbet bagged the Silver Lion for his 3h15m-long film post-WWII film The Brutalist , which starred Adrien Brody. Nicole Kidman was awarded the Best Actress award for Halina Reijn’s thriller Babygirl .
Unfortunately, Kidman could not receive the award herself upon sudden news of her mother's death. Reijn accepted the award on her behalf and read out a message from the actress, which stated, “Today, I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after that my brave and beautiful mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed. I’m in shock and I have to go to my family.
But this award is for her." "She shaped me, she guided me and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina.
The collision of life and art is heartbreaking. My heart is broken,” the statement concluded. Corbet, who was called to the stage right after to accept his Best Director award for The Brutalist , offered his condolences to Kidman.
The 81st edition’s jury was presided over by Isabelle Huppert and comprised of film.