Georgios "Yorgos" Lanthimos ( el, Γιώργος Λάνθιμος, Giórgos Lánthimos, ; born 23 September 1973) is a Greek film director, film producer, screenwriter, photographer, theatre director and former professional basketball player. Since 2015, Lanthimos has transitioned from making films in Greek to making higher-budget English-language films produced in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In his English-language career, he has received three

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for his work:

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

for ''

The Lobster ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (2015) and

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

and

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

for ''

The Favourite ''The Favourite'' is a 2018 period black comedy film co-produced and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, from a screenplay by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. Set in early 18th century Great Britain, the film's plot examines the relationship betw ...

'' (2018).

Early life

Lanthimos was born in

Pangrati Pangrati or Pagrati ( el, Παγκράτι) is a neighborhood in Central Athens, Greece, having an estimated population of 35,173 residents. Named after the ancient sanctuary of Hercules Pancrates ("All Powerful"), its frontage runs from Vasi ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. He was raised mainly by his mother. His father, Antonis Lanthimos, was a professional basketball player who played for

Pagrati B.C. Pagrati B.C. (alternate spellings: Pagkrati, Pagratiou, Pagkratiou, Pangrati, Pangratiou, Pangkrati, Pangkratiou) is a Greek professional basketball club. The club is located in the Pangrati neighborhood of Athens, Greece. The team competes in the ...

and the

Greece national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team ( el, Eθνική Oμάδα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ελλάδος) represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for ...

, and was also a basketball instructor at the

Moraitis School The Moraitis School ( el, Σχολή Μωραΐτη, Scholi Moraiti) is a co-educational private school in Athens, Greece. It is located in Psychico, a suburb north of the Greek capital. In student population terms, the Moraitis school is one of ...

. Having graduated from the Moraitis School, Lanthimos went on to study Business Administration and played for a period in Pagrati B.C. He eventually dropped out and went on to study Directing for Film and Television at the Hellenic Cinema and Television School Stavrakos (HCTSS) in Athens.

Career

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 Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

and

closing Closing may refer to: Business and law * Closing (law), a closing argument, a summation * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction * Closing (sales), the process of making a sale * Closure (business), Closing a ...

ceremonies of the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens. Lanthimos's feature film career started with the 2001 mainstream film '' My Best Friend'', which he co-directed with

Lakis Lazopoulos Lakis Lazopoulos ( el, Λάκης Λαζόπουλος) is a Greek playwright, actor, comedian, script writer, producer, tv presenter, writer, columnist, songwriter and performer. He was ranked 83rd by the public in Skai TV's '' Great Greeks'' ...

, and the

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

'' Kinetta'' which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. His third feature film, '' Dogtooth'', won the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

prize at the

2009 Cannes Film Festival The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...

and was nominated for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 83rd Academy Awards. In 2010, he acted in and co-produced ''

Attenberg ''Attenberg'' is a 2010 Greek drama film, written and directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari. The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival and Ariane Labed won the Coppa Volpi for the Best Actress. It w ...

'', a Greek drama film directed by

Athina Rachel Tsangari Athina Rachel Tsangari (, ; born 2 April 1966) is a Greek filmmaker. Some of her most notable works include her feature films, '' The Slow Business of Going'' (2000), ''Attenberg'' (2010) and ''Chevalier'' (2015) as well as the co-production of ...

. His fourth feature film, ''

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

'' (2011), won the Osella Award for Best Screenplay at the

68th Venice International Film Festival The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was p ...

. The script for Lanthimos's fifth film, ''

'', won the 2013 ARTE International Award as Best CineMart Project at the 42nd

International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

. The film was selected to compete for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

and won the

Jury Prize A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England duri ...

. At the 75th Venice Film Festival, he presented his latest work, ''

'' (2018), and won the Grand Jury Prize. The film tied for the most nominations at

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, A ...

, with ten, including

and

for Lanthimos. 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.

Personal life

Since 2013, Lanthimos has been married to Greek-French actress

Ariane Labed Ariane Labed (born 8 May 1984) is a Greek-French actress and film director. She is known for her feature film debut in ''Attenberg'', for which she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, and appearing in Helen Edmundson's film ''Mary Magdalene'' in ...

Filmography

Film

Short film

Music video

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Yorgos Lanthimos by Peter Strickland
''

Bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

'' *
Yorgos Lanthimos
at the Greek Film Centre's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanthimos, Yorgos 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 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