Yorgos Lanthimos

Yorgos Lanthimos (born 23 September 1973) is a Greek filmmaker. He is known for directing psychological thrillers, black comedies and horror films. He has received numerous accolades including four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, and a BAFTA Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Lanthimos' early films include My Best Friend (2001), Kinetta (2005), and Dogtooth (2009), the later of which won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Since 2015, Lanthimos has transitioned from making films in Greek to making higher-budget English-language films produced in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States. He has received three Academy Award nominations for his work: Best Original Screenplay for The Lobster (2015) and Best Director and Best Picture for The Favourite (2018).
His film Poor Things premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2023, where it won the Golden Lion.
Early life and education
Lanthimos was born in Pangrati, Athens, and was primarily raised by his mother, Eirini, a shop owner. His father, Antonis Lanthimos, had a career as a professional basketball player, competing for Pagrati B.C. and the Greek national basketball team. Antonis also served as a basketball instructor at the Moraitis School.
After completing his education at the Moraitis School, Lanthimos pursued studies in Business Administration while also engaging in basketball for a period with Pagrati B.C. However, he eventually decided to drop out and went on to study Directing for Film and Television at the Hellenic Cinema and Television School Stavrakos (HCTSS) in Athens.
Career
1995–2014: Rise to prominence
During the 1990s Lanthimos directed a series of videos for Greek dance-theater companies. Since 1995 he has directed TV commercials, music videos, short films and experimental theater plays. He was also a member of the creative team that designed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Lanthimos's feature film career started with the 2001 mainstream film My Best Friend, which he co-directed with Lakis Lazopoulos, and the experimental film Kinetta which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival.
His third feature film, a Greek psychological drama Dogtooth, won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. Critic Roger Ebert praised Lanthimos for "his command of visuals and performances".
The Associated Press described the film as "Disturbing and at times startlingly brutal, the film will alienate those who seek genteel fare at the art house. But its edgy integrity and distinctive atmosphere should win fans in some corners, particularly among those who admire the less tongue-in-cheek work of Lars Von Trier." In 2010, he acted in and co-produced Attenberg, a Greek drama film directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari. His fourth feature film, Alps (2011), won the Osella Award for Best Screenplay at the 68th Venice International Film Festival.
2015–present: Breakthrough and acclaim
Lanthimos then directed his fifth film, an absurdist black comedy The Lobster (2015) starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and John C. Reilly. The script for Lanthimos's won the ARTE International Award as Best CineMart Project at the 42nd International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film was selected to compete for the at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and won the Jury Prize. Chris Nashawatay of Entertainment Weekly praised the film describing it as "the most original and beautifully strange love story since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)". He added, "Lanthimos’ films aren’t for everyone. They’re deadpan and almost clinically detached. At times they feel like dispatches from a distant alien planet."
In 2017 he directed the psychological horror A24 film The Killing of a Sacred Deer starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman and Barry Keoghan. The film premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it comepeted for the . Mark Kermode of The Guardian described the film writing, "As black comedy gives way to grand guignol, we are reminded of the tortured games that Michael Haneke once played upon his bourgeois protagonists and audiences." He also compared the film to The Exorcist, We Need to Talk About Kevin and Rosemary's Baby.
At the 75th Venice Film Festival, he presented his latest work, a period black comedy The Favourite (2018) where it won the Grand Jury Prize. The film starred Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz. The film tied with Roma for the most nominations at 91st Academy Awards, with ten, including Best Picture and Best Director for Lanthimos. Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote, "Set in the court of Queen Anne during the early 1700s, with jaunty dollops of classical music playing in ironic counterpart to all the low-minded chicanery, the movie is Barry Lyndon meets Dangerous Liaisons meets All About Eve with blood flourishes lifted from Peter Greenaway."
In February 2019, it was reported that Lanthimos was working on an adaptation of the Jim Thompson 1964 novel Pop. 1280, which he is set to write and direct. He presented his fourth English-language film, Poor Things, at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion.
Style and themes
Lanthimos is a part of a postmodern film movement known as the Greek Weird Wave. His films Kinetta, Dogtooth and Alps are greatly influenced by his ethnic heritage. Similarly, Lanthimos' following English-language films, The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, continue to investigate the same thematic issues.
His style of filmmaking consists of stilted speech, deadpan acting, fundamental idea, and framed cinematography. The Favourite is an example of Lanthimos' pessimistic worldview in this regard—a non-comedy that significantly expands the themes of his recent anti-tragedies. Other themes include animal cruelty, physical infirmity, body swapping, and unrequited love.
Personal life
Lanthimos has been married to Greek-French actress Ariane Labed since 2013. They have lived in London since 2011.
Filmography
Film
Short film
Theatre
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Yorgos Lanthimos by Peter Strickland Bomb
Yorgos Lanthimos at the Greek Film Centre's website
1973 births
Living people
20th-century Greek male writers
21st-century Greek male writers
European Film Award for Best Director winners
European Film Award for Best Screenwriter winners
Greek expatriates in the United Kingdom
Greek film directors
Greek film producers
Greek men's basketball players
Greek music video directors
Greek screenwriters
Greek theatre directors
Male screenwriters
Film people from Athens
Pagrati B.C. players
Basketball players from Athens
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners
Directors of Golden Lion winners