Exploring the early music video work of Yorgos Lanthimos
These days, Yorgos Lanthimos is recognised as Greece’s most successful filmmaker, known for his unsettling exploration of human psychology and relationships. Having found success in his home country and Hollywood, even earning four Oscar nominations, Lanthimos has proved himself a versatile figure in the industry.
His solo feature debut, Kinetta, was released in 2005 and paved the way for his future work, although it remains one of his less accessible works, defined by its near-plotless and cryptic approach. However, two years later, Lanthimos made Dogtooth, one of his most captivating works. It won the Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, lauded for its surreal, uncanny atmosphere.
The director’s final Greek-language production before transitioning into English-language work was Alps. Subsequently, Lanthimos has worked with Hollywood actors, although that doesn’t mean he has compromised his penchant for absurdity. The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and The Favourite were all commercially and critically successful, elevating his status to one of modern cinema’s most fascinating filmmakers.
However, before Lanthimos could become an acclaimed feature director, he studied at Athens’ Hellenic Cinema and Television School Stavrakos. This led him to direct various projects for stage and screen, including adverts and music videos. In fact, Lanthimos has quite a handful of music video credits, beginning with 1996’s ‘I paramythenia’ by Katerina Kyrmizi. The video has a quintessentially ’90s feel, and you’d never guess that the same man behind Dogtooth also directed the clip.
The following year, Lanthimos directed the video for ‘Deka entoles’ by Despina Vandi, which is much more visually interesting than ‘I paramythenia’. The video utilises some distinctive filming and editing techniques, such as fast panning, zooming and reversed shots, although it still feels a far cry from the director’s usual work.
Talking to Issue Magazine, the filmmaker explained that his foray into making advertisements and music videos was a way for him to gain experience and knowledge before he could make feature films. He said: “Growing up in Greece, it was not very common for a young boy to say, ‘I’m going to become a filmmaker.’ At least back then, there weren’t many filmmakers and no industry. So I was interested in films, but it started with a plan that sounded more feasible—to study film and television in order to make commercials, which is a real job where someone can make a living.”
He added: “That’s why I went to film school. But, of course, in school I became more and more in love with films. Although I did start making a lot of commercials very early on—that’s where I got my technical experience—I always had in mind that I wanted to make a film.”
Some of Lanthimos’ other credits include ‘Enas fantaros s’ ena treno’ by Haris Alexiou and four collaborations with Sakis Rouvas, including ‘Den ehei sidera i kardia sou’ and ‘Theleis i de theleis’. Since he began making feature films, Lanthimos has only briefly returned to the music video format once to create a 30-second clip for Radiohead’s ‘Identikit’.
Check out some of Lanthimos’ early music videos below.
