Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature-length film, The Room Next Door premiered at the 81st Venice Film Festival, where it received a 17-minute ovation. Adapted from Sigrid Nunez’s novel What Are You Going Through, it tells the story of two old friends who reunite, played by Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, and reflects on death and euthanasia.

The first portion of the film was shot in the United States, and the central part in the Szoke House in San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Madrid), a work of Aranguren + Gallegos Arquitectos. It simulates a spot in Woodstock, in New York State, for the purpose of which the vegetation around the building was modified. Built between 2018 and 2020, the house is nestled in the woods of La Herrería, on the south slope of Mount Abantos. It is broken up into small volumes to minimize its visual impact and engage in dialogue with the surroundings. The project pursued good orientations with picture windows that have a key role in the movie’s plot.

Madrid is one of the main characters of the world of the filmmaker from La Mancha, as documented in ‘Madrid, chica Almodóvar’, an exhibition on view at the Conde Doque Cultural Center through 20 October, curated by Pedro Sánchez Castrejón, the author of the book Todo sobre mi Madrid. Un paseo por el Madrid de Almodóvar.

Trailer: La habitación de al lado