At the 81st Venice Film Festival, Pedro Almodóvar won the Golden Lion for his film The Room Next Door, his first win at the festival. The film, Almodóvar's first English-language project with Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, received mixed reviews from critics and was considered a surprising choice given its less flamboyant approach than previous works. Brady Corbet won best director for The Brutalist, while other notable winners included Dea Kulumbegashvili for April (special jury prize) and Nicole Kidman for best actress in Babygirl. The jury's choices, led by Isabelle Huppert, represented an unexpected turn of events at a festival criticized for its lack of balance and consistency in quality.

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