DUBAI: Brazilian model and influencer Maria Braz turned heads at the screening of “The Room Next Door” at the Venice Film Festival in a gown by Lebanese designer Georges Chakra. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle The strapless gown featured a mix of bold polka dots and intricate sequin embellishments. The look was completed with a dramatic, oversized polka-dotted shawl draped over her arms. Braz accessorized her gown with jewelry from Tiffany & Co., including a simple choker necklace and modern, understated earrings. Moroccan Emirati actress Mayssa Maghrebi was also spotted on the red carpet. She donned a sleek, black gown with a form-fitting silhouette. The gown featured thick straps and subtle cutouts at the sides. The bodice was adorned with intricate jeweled embellishments, and the dress extended into a slight train. “The Room Next Door,” by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, had its world premiere at the festival’s 81st edition, where it received a standing ovation for nearly 20 minutes, The Associated Press reported. Though a new Almodóvar film is always an event for cinephiles, this one has special significance — it’s his English-language debut. “My insecurity disappeared after the first table read with the actresses, with the exchange of the first indications,” he wrote in his director’s statement. “The language wasn’t going to be a problem, and not because I master English, but because of the total disposition of the whole cast to understand me and to make it easy for me to understand them.” The film stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, who play disconnected friends, who met in their youths at a magazine job, and whose lives took different paths. Ingrid (Moore) wrote novels while Martha (Swinton) became a war reporter. And now after years apart, they meet again in New York when Ingrid finds out Martha has cancer and is in a nearby hospital. Over the following weeks and months, they reconnect, learning about one another"s lives and Martha’s estranged daughter through a series of revealing conversations. The film, which will be released in theaters in December, is playing in competition alongside titles including “Maria,” “Queer” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Winners will be announced on Sept. 7.