Archive of films Alps / Alpis

Greece
2011, 93 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2012

The basic building block of Yorgos Lanthimos’s third feature (like his previous work) is absurd, black humor. But here the stylization of Dogtooth is replaced with a much more realistic look. Nevertheless, the director maintains a certain distance from the plot action and the characters, while at the same time his film evokes anxiety in the viewer and prompts questions that are left unanswered.


Synopsis

Prospective members of the Alps group are presented with a list of rules. Rule number 1: when filling out the forms they must state in advance the things they are unwilling to do (e.g. kissing, lifting weights, traveling, etc.). Rule number 2: when filling out the forms they must state in advance the things they have a talent for (e.g. dancing, waterskiing, discussing, etc.). Rule number 3: they must have a basic knowledge of psychology and sociology. All in all there are 15 such rules, invented by the leader of the Alps group, Mont Blanc, and each member who decides to join the group must abide by them. As in Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos’s third feature relies on absurd and black humor as fundamental building blocks, while the director once again plunges into the world of dependence, emotional loss, and favoritism. Dogtooth’s stylization is here exchanged for a much more realistic and authentic look. Nevertheless, the director maintains a certain distance from the plot action and the characters, while, at the same time, his film evokes anxiety in the viewer and prompts questions that are left unanswered.

About the director

Yorgos Lanthimos

Yorgos Lanthimos (b. 1973, Athens) graduated in film and television direction from Stavrakos Film and TV School in Athens. Since 1995 he has been shooting shorts (Uranisco Disco, 2001) and features while directing for the theater and making music videos and TV commercials. He was also a member of the team which co-organized the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. His first feature, Kinetta (2005), premiered at the Toronto IFF in the Discovery section. His second feature Dogtooth won the main prize of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2009 and was screened last year at Karlovy Vary in its focus on Young Greek Cinema. The movie also took best picture and direction in 2010 from the Greek Film Academy. His latest feature, Alps, premiered at Venice in 2011, and received a prize for Best script.

Contacts

The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Tel: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.the-match-factory.com

About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section: Horizons
   
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Screenplay: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
Dir. of Photography: Christos Voudouris
Editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Producer: Athina Rachel Tsangari, Yorgos Lanthimos
Production: Haos Film Production
Cast: Aggeliki Papoulia, Aris Servetalis, Johnny Vekris, Ariane Labed
Contact: The Match Factory

Guests

Thania Dimitrakopoulou

Sales Agent

YouTube

© 2024 FILM SERVIS FESTIVAL KARLOVY VARY, a.s. [email protected] +420 221 411 011 All contacts

AccommodationsAccommodations Festival Pass, tickets, reservationsFestival Pass, tickets
HistoryHistory ContactsContacts
Archive of filmsArchive of films KVIFF TalksKVIFF Talks
Industry Days Programme 2021Industry Days Programme KVIFF Eastern PromisesKVIFF Eastern Promises
VideogalleryVideogallery PhotogalleryPhotogallery
ContactsContacts Posters of the 57th KV IFFPosters of the 57th KV IFF
HistoryHistory Festival GuideFestival Guide