Pedro Almodóvar's “The Room Next Door,” starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, deals with a controversial subject: euthanasia.

Almodóvar's first English-language feature, "The Room Next Door," stars the two Oscar winners as Ingrid (Moore) and Martha (Swinton). They were close friends when they worked at the same magazine in their youth. After years of separation, they meet again when Martha is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to take charge of her own life.

During the Venice Film Festival press conference on Monday, the Spanish author spoke passionately about the subject he tackles in the film and why he believes it should also be an option for people who suffer the same fate.

"This film is pro-euthanasia," he said, speaking in Spanish. "It's something we admire about the character Tilda, who decides that the only way to eradicate cancer is to make the decision she makes. 'If I get there first, cancer won't beat me,' she says. And so she finds a way to achieve her goal with the help of her boyfriend, but they have to act like criminals."