With anticipation building for the release of his new film, Bugonia, acclaimed Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos has announced his intention to take a short break from directing.
The multi-award-winning filmmaker admitted in a recent interview that the back-to-back production of his last three films—Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness, and the upcoming Bugonia—has left him exhausted.
Speaking to Collider, Lanthimos specifically stated that he is “running on empty” and therefore plans to step away from filmmaking for a period. “I can’t keep going like this anymore. It’s wrong. I think I need a break…I’ve said this before, but this time I mean it,” he commented.
About Lanthimos’ Bugonia
Bugonia (which translates roughly to “spontaneous generation” or “birth from a carcass”) is Lanthimos’s ninth feature film. It is a remake of the 2003 South Korean cult film Save the Green Planet, originally written and directed by Jang Joon-hwan.
The film stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Stavros Halkias, Aidan Delbis, and Alicia Silverstone. The screenplay, penned by Emmy winner Will Tracy, centers on “two young men obsessed with conspiracy theories (Plemons and Delbis) who kidnap the powerful CEO of a pharmaceutical company (Stone), convinced she is an alien force aiming to destroy the planet Earth.”
Bugonia held its world premiere in the competitive section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where it was met with an enthusiastic reception and excellent reviews. Its Greek premiere took place at the Athens International Film Festival (“Nύχτες Πρεμιέρας”), and it is scheduled to hit Greek theaters on November 6, distributed by Tanweer.
