Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos (/ˈlænθɪmoʊs/; Greek: Γιώργος Λάνθιμος[1] [ˈʝorɣos ˈlanθimos]; born 23 September 1973) is a Greek filmmaker. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for five Academy Awards.
Yorgos Lanthimos
Lanthimos started his career in experimental theatre before making his directorial film debut with the sex comedy My Best Friend (2001). He rose to prominence directing the psychological drama film Dogtooth (2009), which won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Lanthimos transitioned to making English-language films with the black comedy The Lobster (2015), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
He has since collaborated with actress Emma Stone in the period black comedies The Favourite (2018) and Poor Things (2023). He received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture for both films; the latter also won the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.
Early life and education[edit]
Lanthimos was born in the Pagrati neighbourhood of Athens on 23 September 1973, the son of shop owner Eirini and basketball player Antonis Lanthimos.[2] His father played for Pagrati BC and the Greek national basketball team, later serving as a basketball instructor at the Moraitis School.[3] Lanthimos was primarily raised by his mother.[2]
After completing his education at the Moraitis School, he studied business administration. He also followed his father into playing basketball for Pagrati BC.[4] His basketball career was short as he decided to study film and television directing at the Hellenic Cinema and Television School Stavrakos in Athens.[2] His maternal hails is from Karkinagri, Ikaria[5]
Career[edit]
1995–2008: Rise to prominence[edit]
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.[6] He was also a member of the creative team that designed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[6][7]
Lanthimos's feature film career started with the 2001 mainstream Greek comedy film My Best Friend, which he co-directed with Lakis Lazopoulos.[8] Robert Koehler of Variety declared "Lanthimos works mightily to make a big impression. As a result [the film] is a sex farce on steroids, overflowing with energy and excessive curiosity about what the movie camera actually can do".[9]
His sophomore project was the experimental and psychological drama Kinetta, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival.[10]
The film revolves around three nameless protagonists as they attempt to film and photograph various badly reenacted struggles between a man and a woman at a Greek hotel. The film earned mixed to negative reviews. Roger Moore of Movie Nation described it as "overtly navel-gazing, obscure to the point of suggesting obscurant. It’s a 95 minute exercise in minimalism, behavior studies, psychology and boredom."[11] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a positive review he stating, "The standoffish debut holds some pleasures for patient viewers" adding, "Lanthimos enjoys provoking us visually...The camera’s gaze is as idiosyncratic as the visions the Driver tries to bring to life, but unlike him, the film seems satisfied with what it creates."[12]
In 2008 he directed a production of Natura morta in un fosso written by Fausto Paravidino at the Amore Theatre in Greece.[13][14]
Style and themes[edit]
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 Greek heritage. Similarly, his English-language films The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer continue to investigate similar thematic issues.[48]
Lanthimos's films often feature uniquely framed cinematography, deadpan acting, and characters with stilted speech.[49]
