A biography for Yorgos Lanthimoshasn’t been written yet.
“In film, I like transformation. That goes for the language, for the image, for the performance.”
“As an audience member myself, I love to be in a position where I'm trying to figure out what I am supposed to feel or if what I'm feeling is appropriate or not.”
“Rebellion is not always the right thing. Following the rules is not always the right thing. You have to think for yourself and identify the things that do not work for you.”
“It's hard for me to consider something in cinema or theater as something realistic.”
“I find it very interesting to keep people uncertain about what is what and figure it out as they go.”
“Whenever a film doesn't follow to the letter the preset strict conventional rules of today's commercial cinema, it's considered weird.”
“There's much more activity in England than in Greece. Or at least there's a lot more development, which obviously brings another set of problems.”
“I just try and decide what I'm interested in and what excites me. I don't worry about how it's going to be perceived.”
“When people don't understand what they're watching, a lot of what they perceive has to do with who they themselves are.”
“'The Lobster,' at some point, was my most accessible film. Then I made 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer,' which turned out to be not as accessible as 'The Lobster.' It was the film I wanted to make and the story I wanted to tell.”
“For me, filmmaking is not about making statements but about exposing human behavior so people are eager enough to start thinking on their own and make their own assumptions.”
“Of course I know what works for me and what kind of tone I want my films to have.”
“In general, I like contradictions and complex situations.”
“I did have a lot of years watching and appreciating dance and theater and all of those kind of things, and it has informed the way that I work with actors and the way I approach things.”
“I never think in metaphors or fully make those kind of associations myself. I just lay down a complex situation and hope things arise from that.”
“I never think about it much, the visual aspect of it, until we start making the movie. I don't really think about it when we write. When we finish, and I start putting the film together, and we pick the locations, I do think about that a lot.”
“There are things to love about filmmaking in Greece. People are generous: If you get along well with others, the people around you will give more than they might otherwise be willing to give, more than they're supposed to.”
“I work very physically. I don't like to intellectualize too much about what we're doing, or analyze it.”
“Most times, women are seen through the male gaze, so they are often shown as housewives, girlfriends, or objects of desire.”
“I always expect people to be torn when they see one of my films and divided in some way.”