As the 59th edition of the New York Film Festival concluded last weekend, we were thrilled to invite audiences to the North American premiere of our Closing Night selection, Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers. Almodóvar’s new film (his 13th selection in NYFF, beginning with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown‘s opening the 26th edition in 1988) is a contemporary melodrama that features two women (Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit), a generation apart, finding themselves inextricably linked by their brief time together in a maternity ward. In addition to screening in each of the festival’s Lincoln Center venues, Parallel Mothers‘ presence was also felt via a morning press conference and, in the evening, a star-studded red carpet, a special reception, and a filmmaker & cast introduction and Q&A.

Scroll through our photo gallery above to see select highlights from the evening, and watch our exclusive conversation with Almodóvar, Cruz, and Smit below.

Mark your calendars: Parallel Mothers will open in our theaters on December 24th.