Pedro Almodóvar's "The Room Next Door," featuring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton , tackles the complex issue of euthanasia.

Marking Almodóvar's debut English-language film, "The Room Next Door" stars the two Academy Award winners as Ingrid (Moore) and Martha (Swinton), who were close friends in their younger years when they worked at the same publication. Years after their paths diverged, they reconnect when Martha is diagnosed with a terminal illness and makes the decision to take control of her own fate.

During the film’s Venice Film Festival press conference on Monday, the Spanish auteur spoke passionately about addressing the subject in the film and why he thinks it should be an option for those facing the same fate.

“This film supports euthanasia,” he stated in Spanish. “We admire Tilda's character in this movie. She decides that eliminating cancer requires making a specific choice. She says, ‘If I can reach that point first, cancer won't defeat me.’ So she finds a way to achieve her goal with the assistance of her friend, but they have to act as if they're criminals.”

Almodóvar's native country of Spain legalized euthanasia in 2021, and he believes that the rest of the world should follow suit.

“Euthanasia should be a possibility everywhere,” he said to applause from the press. “It should be regulated, and a physician should be allowed to assist their patient.”

Swinton shared that she “can't say I wouldn't act in exactly the same way” if she were in her character's situation.

“Personally, I'm not afraid of death, nor have I ever been. I think the journey towards accepting death can be long for some people, but for some reason, because of certain experiences in my life, I became aware of it early on. I know it's coming. I feel it coming, I see it coming,” she said. “One of the things that this film portrays is self-determination, someone who makes the absolute decision to take their life, living, and dying into their own hands.”

While the film undoubtedly deals with death, Moore and Swinton noted that it also feels like a celebration of life.

Moore remarked, “There’s an incredible energy and vitality in Pedro’s films, and that’s what resonates with us all. It’s almost as if, while watching these movies, you can sense everyone’s pulse.”

She elaborated on the movie's profound themes of existence and said it contemplates the questions, “What does it truly mean to live? What defines a human being? What is the significance of having a physical body? What does it mean to have a friend? What does it mean to have a witness?”

Swinton described the film as a “story of deep connection” between her character and Moore’s.

“At its core, it's a story of love between Ingrid and Martha. And when I speak of love, I mean that essential connection, that profound bond of friendship that lies at the heart of all love, ideally.”

Moore also touched upon the profound female friendship depicted in the movie, which she felt was “deeply moving.”

“We rarely encounter stories about female friendship, especially friendships between older women. I can't think of another filmmaker who would explore this theme except Pedro,” she stated. “The importance he gives to this kind of connection is extraordinary. I was deeply moved by how he portrayed this relationship as so profound, because it truly is.”

Their close bond during filming further enhanced the movie's authenticity.

“For Tilda and me, it was a special experience each day,” she remarked. “Watching our relationship evolve, getting to know one another, the secrets we shared, the things we discussed. And it wasn’t just about weighty matters, sometimes it’s about shoes, and that’s perfectly fine!”

Almodovar, who produced the film through his banner El Deseo, had originally considered making “Julieta” in English but ultimately decided to film it in Spanish with Emma Suárez and Adriana Ugarte. At the press conference, he explained that he had held back from making the leap to English-language films because he hadn’t encountered “the right project” yet. When he read Sigrid Nunez’s 2020 novel “What Are You Going Through,” he felt a full adaptation of the entire book would be “unfeasible” and opted to focus on a pivotal chapter that explores the mental states of the two female leads. “They belong to a generation that I'm familiar with, in the mid-80s (…) and it provides an analysis of American society. I know how to portray women like them from that era, and I've encountered other women similar to them.”

Collaborating with Swinton and Moore also aided the director in overcoming the challenge, as they “completely understood the tone (he) wanted to convey this story,” meaning in a way that was “severe, emotional, but not overly dramatic.”

Following its Venice premiere, “The Room Next Door” will debut in cinemas on Dec. 20 from Sony Pictures Classics, which secured distribution rights for North America, the Middle East, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.