Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem were seen leaving Venice by water taxi on Wednesday, a day after their new film Bunker received a 15-and-a-half-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.
Cruz, 52, wore a floral dress as she waved to onlookers outside the Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort, while Bardem, 57, opted for a beige shirt and matching trousers. The couple are in the city to promote their latest screen collaboration, which premiered at the festival’s Sala Grande on Tuesday evening.
The reception proved overwhelming for Cruz, who was reduced to tears as the audience applauded the film. Bardem comforted his wife before director Florian Zeller brought the pair forward to acknowledge the response.
At one point, Bardem stepped aside and gestured towards Cruz, who had appeared on the red carpet in a custom red Chanel gown designed by Matthieu Blazy, as the applause continued.
The reaction to Bunker is currently the longest recorded ovation of the 2026 festival. It falls just short of the 17-minute reception given to Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door in 2024.
Bunker receives major Venice Film Festival reception
The psychological thriller is directed by Zeller, whose official Venice Film Festival programme describes it as a story about love, fidelity and forgiveness. The 126-minute film is screening in the festival’s competition section and also stars Paul Dano, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Stephen Graham. ([labiennale.org](https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2026/venezia-83-competition/bunker?utm_source=openai))
Bardem plays Miguel, an architect whose 17-year marriage is placed under strain after he agrees to design a survivalist bunker for a wealthy technology entrepreneur. Cruz plays his wife, Sofia, who begins working with an American novelist as tensions within the marriage deepen.
The film marks the ninth time Cruz and Bardem have worked together. They first met while filming the Spanish drama Jamon jamon in 1992, but began a relationship years later after reuniting on Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2008.
They married in 2010 and have two children. Both actors have previously won Academy Awards, with Cruz taking the best supporting actress prize for Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Bardem winning best supporting actor for No Country for Old Men.
Following the premiere, Cruz and Bardem returned to the Lido, where they were photographed leaving the historic hotel before boarding the waiting water taxi.
