Listen to the article
The awards of the 81st Venice Film Festival crowned Pedro Almodovar, honored the intense performances of Vincent Lindon and Nicole Kidman, and celebrated actresses over 50, proving that talent knows no age. Here’s a look back at an edition that celebrated auteur cinema and boldness.
Pedro Almodovar Finally Wins the Golden Lion With The Room Next Door
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, 74, received the Golden Lion for Best Film for The Room Next Door, his first feature in the English language. This twilight story of assisted suicide stars American actresses Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. The film traces the final days of Martha (Tilda Swinton), a solitary former war reporter diagnosed with terminal cancer. Refusing another heavy treatment, she decides to end her life with the help of her friend, novelist Ingrid (Julianne Moore).
Filming in the United States, in English, had been a long-held dream for Almodovar. After a few unsuccessful projects in Hollywood, he chose to set his film in New York State, the city that opened the doors of the US to him in the 1980s. He reunited with his loyal composer Alberto Iglesias for the soundtrack and collaborated with major fashion houses for the actresses’ costumes, a trademark of his flamboyant cinema.
Very much Almodovarian in its subject, The Room Next Door diverges from the kitschy comedies of his early days or the emotional highs of All About My Mother. Increasingly haunted by physical decline and death, Almodovar delivers a melodrama with political and social undertones, drawing a parallel between end-of-life and climate catastrophe. “Saying goodbye to this world cleanly and with dignity is a fundamental right,” he declared upon receiving his Golden Lion, rectifying the injustice of a stellar career that had never been rewarded by a major prize in competition.
Vincent Lindon and Nicole Kidman, Best Actor and Actress
The Venice Film Festival also honored two icons of French and Hollywood cinema: Vincent Lindon and Nicole Kidman. At 65, Lindon was named Best Actor for Jouer avec le feu (The Quiet Son), in which he plays a father facing the radicalization of his son towards violent far-right extremism. A role that deftly blends the intimate, social and political, fitting perfectly with his image of masculine anger and fragility. “It’s very rare and very classy for a jury chaired by a Frenchwoman (Isabelle Huppert) to crown a fellow countryman,” Lindon quipped.
The actor, first revealed in Betty Blue by Beineix in 1985, has built an eclectic career, alternating between mainstream films and politically engaged auteur cinema, notably with his collaborator Stéphane Brizé (The Measure of a Man, At War). His career mixes musical films (A Few Days with Me by Sautet), romance (L’irrésolu with his ex-wife Sandrine Kiberlain), comedy (The Crisis by Serreau) and social drama (All Our Desires by Lioret).
Nicole Kidman, 57, was awarded for her boldness in Babygirl, a provocative post-MeToo thriller. The actress pushes boundaries like never before, playing a tech boss who engages in an S&M relationship with a young intern. A raw role (nude scenes, crawling, submission) that shatters her glamorous image and challenges political correctness. Filmed in a climate of constant collaboration, the film allowed Kidman to be “bolder with her body than ever before.” Her risk-taking has been praised, subtly addressing the way Sharon Stone was deprived of agency over her body in Basic Instinct (1992).
Arriving in Venice on Sunday to receive her award, Nicole Kidman learned shortly after the death of her mother, Janelle, aged 84. In shock, she had to leave the festival abruptly, unable to accept her prize in person. It was the director of Babygirl, Halina Reijn, who accepted the award on her behalf and read her emotional message. Very close to her mother, who deeply influenced her, Nicole Kidman was devastated by this sad news in the midst of her moment of recognition.
Actresses Over 50 Take Center Stage
Beyond Kidman and Swinton, this year’s Venice Film Festival celebrated the resurgence of actresses over 50. Isabelle Huppert, 71, served as the festival’s master of ceremonies and starred in films this summer. Sigourney Weaver, 74, received an Honorary Golden Lion for a career that is far from over. Angelina Jolie, 49, dazzled as Maria Callas. Monica Bellucci, 59, and Winona Ryder, 52, joined Tim Burton for Beetlejuice 2.
These ambitious roles break away from the traditional sidelining of actresses over 40. Kidman’s role in Babygirl, a highly discussed erotic thriller where she indulges in desires with an employee, was the most emblematic. Such boldness, inconceivable 30 years ago, was made possible by a female director and an intimacy coordinator dedicated to filming her without betrayal. It also redresses the old wounds of Sharon Stone’s disempowerment over her body.
This strong presence of actresses over 50 signals a turning point in an industry that still struggles to offer substantial roles to older women. The Venice Film Festival proves it’s both possible and desirable to write complex, nuanced characters for them, far from the clichés about menopause or “aging gracefully.” A powerful message to push forward societal changes.
Other Films and Filmmakers Honored
Italian Maura Delpero won the Grand Jury Prize for Vermiglio, and British Brady Corbet received the Best Director award for The Brutalist, a portrait of a Holocaust survivor architect starring Adrien Brody.
The Brazilian duo Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega were awarded for their screenplay for I’m Still Here by Walter Salles. Dea Kulumbegashvili won the Special Jury Prize with April, a French-Italian-Georgian co-production.
Finally, French actor Paul Kircher, who has been in the spotlight in recent months, was named Best Newcomer for And Their Children After Them, adapted from the novel by Nicolas Mathieu. At just 22, he delivers a moving performance as a young man torn between two worlds, fulfilling the promise he showed in Christophe Honoré’s Winter Boy.
Some big names left empty-handed, such as Wes Anderson with Asteroid City, Yorgos Lanthimos with Poor Things, or Joker: Folie à Deux with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga—proof of the high competition and a jury unswayed by star power.
In conclusion, the 2024 Venice Film Festival skillfully balanced honoring icons (Almodovar, Lindon, Kidman), revealing fresh talents (Kircher, Corbet) and embracing bold risks (roles for women over 50, Almodovar’s thunderous return).
It righted wrongs (Almodovar’s long-awaited Golden Lion, the visibility of actresses over 50), opened new paths (Almodovar filming in English, Kidman breaking free from her image) and rewarded a quiet audacity, ideally embodied by Lindon.
Far from blockbusters, it celebrated auteur cinema driven by strong artistic choices, featuring actors willing to step out of their comfort zones. An ambitious and open artistic vision, upheld by a demanding jury led by Isabelle Huppert, paves the way for a stimulating future in international auteur cinema.
