Bizarre circumstances and deadpan dark humor define the films of the Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos. His latest, “Bugonia,” about two cousins who kidnap a powerful woman they suspect is an extraterrestrial being, delivers on both counts.
Since his 2009 breakout feature “Dogtooth,” Lanthimos has only worked with one artist to create posters as mind-bending as the films themselves: the graphic designer Vasilis Marmatakis. The two met in the early 2000s while working in advertising alongside Efthymis Filippou, who frequently writes screenplays with Lanthimos.
“Vasilis tries to visualize a profound aspect of the film through the image that he creates, something that really represents the film without explaining it, so the connection between the poster and the film is synchronous,” Lanthimos said via video call.
For Marmatakis, who starts working on each poster as soon as the screenplay is completed, what draws him to Lanthimos’s films is that “they are dark, pop and funny,” he said from Athens. “And they are visually stunning, so I have really amazing material to work with.”
And while Lanthimos has achieved international success, his collaboration with Marmatakis is a compatriot affair. “We always discuss things in Greek,” the designer added.
Below, Marmatakis provides insight into how his posters interpret Lanthimos’s stories.
‘Bugonia’
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