Emma Stone Stars In New Short “Bleat” Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Hollywood favorite Emma Stone is starring in a new short film by esteemed Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos called “Bleat.”

The short film,which was made for the National Greek Opera and NEON, a world-renowned Greek art foundation, will premiere in Greece on May 6.

Accompanied by a live orchestra, the premiere of “Bleat” will take place in the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the National Greek Opera.

The comedy short was shot on the Greek island of Tinos in 2020 and stars Stone and French actor Damien Bonnard, who is known for his roles in “Dunkirk” and “The French Dispatch.”

Emma Stone in “Bleat” by Yorgos Lanthimos

The cryptic trailer shows a traditional house on the Greek island, as well as a goat. Considering the title, goats likely play an important role in the film.

Lanthimos is known as a pioneer of the “Greek Weird Wave,” a genre which includes films that feature absurdist dialogues and often solitary, isolated protagonists who navigate through real-world circumstances that seem to be slightly “off.”

The Greek director’s 2009 film “Dogtooth,” or “Κυνόδοντας” in Greek,” was an artistic triumph that gained critical acclaim around the world. The unsettling film, which depicts a Greek family headed by a domineering father who keeps his adult children ignorant of the world outside of their home, launched both Lanthimos and Greek cinema into the limelight.

His works “The Lobster” and “The Favourite,” which earned ten Oscar nominations, have made Lanthimos one of the most sought-after directors around the world.

Stone starred in the renowned period drama “The Favourite,” and has become a frequent collaborator with Lanthimos. The pair worked also together on his upcoming film entitled “Poor Things,” which was shot in the Summer of 2021.

Yorgos Lanthimos and “Greek Weird Wave”

Born on September 23, 1973 in the middle class Athenian neighborhood of Pangrati, Lanthimos knew from a young age that he wanted to be a director.

His father, Antonis Lanthimos, was a talented, imaginative basketball player who played for years for the Pangrati Basketball Club and the Greek national team in the 1960s and 1970s.

From the age of 15, the Greek visionary made it his goal to become a director, and began his career making music videos.

In the late 1990s, Lanthimos began making impressive music video clips for Greek pop stars Sakis Rouvas and Despoina Vandi, as well as singers Katerina Kyrmizi and Nikos Grigoriadis.

He then went on to shoot some of the most memorable advertisements in the history of Greek television, such as the beloved “Greeks in London” ad for Aegean Airlines, and the “Put the Kot Down Slowly” spot for Nova TV, which features rural Greek police officers who have watched too many American cop shows.