‘Alps’ & ‘Dogtooth’ Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ Next Feature Is A Futuristic Romance Called ‘The Lobster’

The last time we checked in with “Alps” and “Dogtooth” helmer Yorgos Lanthimos, the man had some big plans. Over the summer, the filmmaker revealed he had three possible projects brewing for his next movie including a book adaptation, a British period piece (as a director-for-hire-gig) and a sci-fi fantasy film. And now that the new year has rolled around, it looks like the latter project — easily the most intriguing of the bunch — is picking up some steam.

The folks over at Flix reveal that Lanthimos will be headed to the Rotterdam Cinemart — part of the Rotterdam Film Festival — later this month, where he’ll be pitching “The Lobster.” Yet another collaboration with screenwriter Efthymis Filippou, the director will be making a presentation, and seeking further partners for the Ireland, UK and Greece co-production, that is currently budgeted at €1.9 million. Oh, you want to know what it’s all about? Here’s the synopsis:

An unconventional love story set in a dystopian near future where single people, according to the rules of the Town, are arrested and transferred to the Hotel. There they are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days. If they fail, they are transformed into an animal of their choosing and released into the woods. A desperate Man escapes from the Hotel to the Woods where the Loners live and there he falls in love, although it’s against their rules.

…so yeah, another great sounding, unique vision from Lanthimos. And in a statement that will be accompanying the presentation, Lathimos describes what sorts of themes he’s eager to explore.

The Lobster is a story about love, without being a conventional love story. It observes the ways and reasons certain people come together to form couples, while others don’t. It is a story about the terrifying effects of solitude, the fear of dying alone, the fear of living alone and, above all, the fear of living with someone. Forcing ourselves to like someone is one kind of suffering; trying to find someone we really like is a different sort of suffering. The Lobster tries to discover synonyms for love in words such as fear, norms, deadlines, matching, synchronicity, naivety, prosperity and lies.

Fingers crossed that the movie quickly finds the rest of its funding and is able to get rolling. But even so, it won’t be his next project exactly. Lathimos is currently in pre-production on a short film which he’ll complete first before moving onto “The Lobster.”