‘The Room Next Door’ wins Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for "The Room Next Door", while France's Vincent Lindon and Australian star Nicole Kidman took the top acting prizes.The decision was made by the Venice Film Festival jury, chaired by Isabelle Huppert.This was Almodovar's first English-language feature, and his Golden Lion comes five years after he won a career achievement award at the festival. The film stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore."The Room Next Door" explores the reunion of two friends – one a novelist, the other a war reporter – set against the backdrop of illness. 
The Silver Lion, Grand Prix du Jury, was awarded to another pastoral drama, Vermiglio, directed by Italian filmmaker Maura Delpero. Set during the Second World War, the film explores the daily life of a large family in a mountain village in Italy who take in two deserters with varying degrees of warmth.
Kidman won her award playing a lusty, unfulfilled CEO embarking on a torrid affair with an intern in "Babygirl". But she was unable to collect her award following the sudden death of her mother.French veteran actor Vincent Lindon won the festival's best actor award for "The Quiet Son." Over his 40-year-career, the Cannes-winning Lindon has often gravitated towards films with social themes, playing flawed working-class men roused to fight injustices. As per AFP report, the festival also honoured American actress Sigourney Weaver and Australian director Peter Weir with lifetime achievement awards.