This Cultural Life10 Feb 2024

Yorgos Lanthimos

Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos first emerged as part the so-called ‘weird wave’ of Greek cinema, and is known for unsettling themes and absurdist humour of his films. He made his mark internationally in 2009 with Dogtooth, which won a Cannes film festival prize and was nominated for an Oscar. Shifting into English language cinema with The Lobster, starring Colin Farrell and Olivia Colman, he continued to win awards and acclaim with The Killing Of A Sacred Deer and his historical comedy drama The Favourite. His most recent film Poor Things, starring Emma Stone, has been nominated for eleven Academy awards, including best film and best director.

Yorgos Lanthimos tells John Wilson about his upbringing in Athens, the son of a professional basketball player who was part of the Greek national team, and how, after graduating from film school, he began making commercials and pop videos. He reveals why the work of the American photographer Diane Arbus, renowned for the underlying psychological tension of her portraits, was a major inspiration on the mood of his films. He also cites the influences of the German choreographer Pina Bausch on visual elements in his films, including dance routines seen in The Favourite and Poor Things. The plays of the British writer Sarah Kane, including Blasted and Crave, were also influential on the tone of his darkly humorous films.

Producer: Edwina Pitman

Diane Arbus' quote is from the documentary film Going Where I've Never Been: The Photography of Diane Arbus (1972), voiced by Mariclare Costello.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(161)

Tania Bruguera

Cuban performance and conceptual artist Tania Bruguera talks to John Wilson about her career and cultural influences. Her work explores freedom of speech, political oppression and social justice, ofte...

9 Jul 43min

Anish Kapoor

The artist and sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor talks to John Wilson about his career and cultural influences. Renowned for his innovative, often monumental works, Kapoor gained international recognition in ...

2 Jul 43min

Frank Cottrell-Boyce

The writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks to John Wilson about his cultural influences and career. He started out as a screenwriter on the television soaps Brookside and Coronation Street, before publishi...

25 Jun 42min

Kiefer Sutherland

John Wilson talks to the actor and musician Kiefer Sutherland. The son of Canadian actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, he first made his mark in the 1980s and 90s with films including Stand...

18 Jun 43min

Liam Young

Australian-born artist, filmmaker and speculative architect Liam Young discusses his work and cultural influences with John Wilson. Young creates imaginary future worlds through films and art installa...

11 Jun 43min

Kristin Scott Thomas

Award-winning actor Kristin Scott Thomas talks to John Wilson about her career and cultural influences. After a breakthrough role in the Evelyn Waugh film adaptation of A Handful Of Dust, she became a...

4 Jun 43min

George Saunders

The Booker Prize winning American author George Saunders talks to John Wilson about his cultural influences. He made his name as a writer of satirical or absurdist short stories which often explore co...

28 Mai 43min

Felicity Lott

The soprano Dame Felicity Lott talks to John Wilson about her distinguished career and cultural influences. One of Britain's best-loved sopranos, her breakthrough role was as a last minute stand-in fo...

21 Mai 41min