Venice Film Festival: Pedro Almodóvar says he is working on two shorts and a Western feature

Pedro Almodóvar’s short film The Human Voice, a 30-minute adaptation of the original stage play by Jean Cocteau, debuted at the Venice Film Festival 2020. The Human Voice tells the story of a desperate woman (Swinton), “who waits for the phone call of the lover who has just abandoned her.” The short marks the Spanish auteur’s English language debut. At the press conference for the short, starring Tilda Swinton, Almodóvar teased his upcoming projects. The filmmaker said he has in the pipeline two more short films and “a different kind of western, which will be very colourful… very theatrical”, writes The Playlist. Almodóvar will begin working on the western after Madres Paralelas with Penelope Cruz that is likely to begin production in February. At the film festival, he said the pre-production on Madres will kickoff this October. The Spanish language film will centre on two mothers who give birth on the same day, according to IndieWire. Almodóvar described one of the shorts as dystopian, inspired by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will chronicle “society when all the theatres and cultural spaces shut down.” At the festival, Almodovar was among those who supported the reopening of movie theatres after coronavirus lockdowns, saying films are meant to be seen on the big screen, not at home. Tilda Swinton made the same point from the stage of the Lido’s main theatre, saying she was overwhelmed seeing the eyes and ears of the audience (though not their mouths because they were all covered in masks.) The Human Voice is also set to premiere at the upcoming New York Film Festival.