As the 82nd Venice Film Festival opens its doors today, all eyes turn to see whether it will once again prove “lucky” for Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos.

In 2023, the internationally acclaimed director claimed the festival’s top honor, the Golden Lion, capping off his 50th birthday with a perfect cinematic gift—a crowning achievement at Europe’s oldest film festival.

Generous in its recognition of Lanthimos’s evolving artistry from his earliest international works, Venice has celebrated the Greek filmmaker with:

• Best Screenplay for Alps (2011), shared with Efthimis Filippou
• Grand Jury Prize for The Favourite (2018), which earned 10 Oscar nominations and secured Olivia Colman the Academy Award for Best Actress
• Golden Lion for Poor Things (2023), a commercial hit that went on to win four Oscars, including Best Actress for Emma Stone, Production Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, and Costume Design

Given this impressive streak, it’s safe to bet that Lanthimos will not leave Venice empty-handed in 2025.

With the spotlight today on the red carpet of the 82nd Mostra, all attention turns to Lanthimos’s latest project, Bugonia, a remake of the 2003 South Korean sci-fi cult classic Save the Green Planet. The film’s official synopsis tells the story of two young conspiracy theorists who abduct a powerful corporate CEO, convinced she is an alien force bent on destroying Earth.

Emma Stone, Lanthimos’s long-time muse, reprises her role as the CEO, joined by Jesse Plemons (Stories of Kindness) and Alicia Silverstone, returning after The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017). The screenplay is penned by Emmy-winning Succession writer Will Tracy.

The title Bugonia draws from an ancient Greek term describing a mythical ritual in which bees are born from the body of a dead cow—a fittingly surreal nod to the director’s signature blend of myth and modernity.

Bugonia will have its world premiere at the 82nd Venice Film Festival on August 28.