Almodovar Wins Golden Lion at Venice Festival

Pedro Almodóvar's English-language debut, The Room Next Door, triumphed at the Venice Film Festival, taking the prestigious Golden Lion award. Nicole Kidman was named best actress for her turn as a CEO who begins an affair with an intern in Babygirl. Kidman had already left the festival due to the death of her mother. Babygirl director Halina Reijn read the following for her: "I arrived in Venice and found out shortly after that my beautiful, brave 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 and made me."

The festival's 81st edition concluded with Isabelle Huppert's jury bestowing other top honors including Brady Corbet as best director for The Brutalist, and Vincent Lindon as best actor for The Quiet Son, in which he plays a single father whose son becomes swept up by the far right. Maura Delpero's Vermiglio took the runner-up Silver Lion. Almodóvar's dedicated his win to his family and emphasized that the firm had a Spanish spirit despite being his first movie in English. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)