Alps

Yorgos Lanthimos and Athina Rachel Tsangari reunite to produce another absurdist feature following their earlier film Dogtooth.

A clandestine group of people known as Alps offers a unique service: if a loved one has passed away, they’ll step in, dress the same way, act the same way and fill the gap that they’ve left behind. The group is made up of a paramedic who calls the shots, a nurse who lives with her widower father, a rhythmic gymnast determined to perform to a pop song and her bullish coach who insists on classical.

For a fee, you too can say goodbye to grief forever.

Curator’s Note

Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to the acclaimed Dogtooth is a fitting continuation of style and surrealism, although as the director describes it, it’s the opposite film to its predecessor. Like Dogtooth, Alps stars Angeliki Papoulia, but this time, her character is responsible for constructing fake worlds instead of unknowingly having one constructed around her.

Produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari, Alps reunited Tsangari with actor Ariane Labed from her film Attenberg, who again takes on a physically demanding role that will become a thread through her entire career – later Labed took on a role as a synchronised swimmer in Tsangari’s BBC series Trigonometry.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)