The Room Next Door

Event information

Pedro Almodovar’s first English-language feature offers a philosophical view of euthanasia with its gentle story two old friends, played by Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, navigating the realities of death.

Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.

The Room Next Door poses a compelling philosophical question. If a terminally ill, close friend asks you to be around—not in the same room as them (hence the title), but around—when they achieve a self-orchestrated death with dignity, would you do it? Should you do it?

The film was awarded the ‘Golden Lion’ and the ‘Brian Award’ (An award given since 2006 to “a film that highlights and enhances the values of rationality, respect for human rights, democracy, pluralism, promotion of individuality, freedom of conscience, expression and research, the principle of equal opportunities in public institutions for all citizens, without the frequent distinctions based on sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious or philosophical stands”) at the Venice film Festival in 2024.