Yorgos Lanthimos, the director of Dogtooth and Poor Things, inaugurates his first large-format photographic exhibition in Athens. Far from the blinding light of the islands, his images capture the margins of his film sets and a Greece that does not appear on postcards. In an interview, the filmmaker issues a direct warning: no one can claim anymore that politics does not interest them, because either you are aware of what is happening or you are dead.
The camera as a sensor of reality and engine of technical development 📸
The exhibition, titled Marginalia, uses medium format equipment and analog development techniques to build high-contrast images. Lanthimos employs wide-angle lenses and off-center framing, forcing the viewer to seek the subject outside the center. This technical approach, inherited from his cinema, generates a visual tension that demands an active reading of the image. There are no digital filters or retouching: the texture of the grain and natural light define each shot, turning photography into a raw testimony of Greek social reality.
The director who forces you out of your comfort zone (and off the couch) 🎬
Lanthimos, known for his uncomfortable shots and dysfunctional characters, now demands that we also look at reality outside the screen. While some use the camera for selfies at the Parthenon, he portrays landfills and abandoned buildings. His message is clear: politics is not an option on the streaming menu. Either you find out what's happening, or you end up as stiff as one of his marble statues. And no, there is no remote control that can save you from that.