Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos returned in triumph to the Venice Film Festival with his latest feature Bugonia, reuniting once again with Emma Stone after their Oscar-winning collaboration on Poor Things. The film, which premiered on August 28 in competition at the 82nd edition of the festival, was met with a rapturous 6-minute-50-second standing ovation inside the Sala Grande. Stone, visibly moved, teared up during the applause before bursting into laughter when she spotted a sign in the audience reading, “Emma, will you dance with me?”

On the red carpet, Stone dazzled in a white Louis Vuitton gown with silver accents, while Lanthimos walked with co-stars Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Alicia Silverstone, and Stavros Halkias.

Bugonia tells the story of two conspiracy theorists (Plemons and Delbis) who kidnap a powerful tech CEO, played by Stone, convinced she is an alien sent to destroy humanity. The screenplay, written by Will Tracy (Succession, The Menu), is a loose remake of the 2003 Korean cult film Save the Green Planet! but carries Lanthimos’ unmistakable directorial touch—mixing absurdist humor, grotesque violence, and sharp social critique.

At a press conference, Lanthimos described the film as “a reflection of what is happening today,” citing looming crises such as artificial intelligence, wars, climate change, and society’s denial of reality. The title itself, drawn from the ancient term “bugonia,” refers to the mythical belief that bees could be born from the carcass of an ox—an allegory of new life emerging from decay.

Early reviews from Venice critics hailed the film as shocking, brilliant, and strange—hallmarks of Lanthimos’ cinema. Some noted that Bugonia tones down his more eccentric stylistic “Lanthimisms” in favor of trusting his cast, especially Stone and Plemons, to carry the emotional weight. Stone joked at the press conference about possibly being an alien herself, while also echoing Carl Sagan’s belief that assuming humanity is alone in the universe is a form of narcissism.

Critics also highlighted the way Lanthimos reshaped the Korean original into something more coherent and universal. The film blends nihilism with unexpected emotion, weaving in dark comedy that lampoons corporate culture, performative progressivism, and humanity’s self-destructive spiral. The climax—a fever-dream final 20 minutes—was singled out as one of the director’s most audacious sequences to date.

Stone delivers another transformative performance, embodying a CEO who masks ruthless capitalist instincts behind progressive corporate language, only to unravel as the story progresses. Plemons, fresh from his Cannes Best Actor win earlier this year, offers a portrayal of human desperation that critics suggest could put him on an awards trajectory once again.

The film’s unsettling tone is amplified by Jerskin Fendrix’s score, whose distorted motifs echo his acclaimed work on Poor Things.

Produced by Element Pictures, Lanthimos’ own Pith, Stone’s Fruit Tree, and Square Peg alongside Korea’s CJ ENM, Bugonia will first open in limited release in the United States on October 24 before expanding nationwide on October 31. The film is set to arrive in Cyprus cinemas on November 6.

For Lanthimos, Bugonia is both a return to Venice—two years after Poor Things won the Golden Lion—and a continuation of his exploration of the absurd and the human. This time, though, his satire is more urgent than ever: a biting parable about power, paranoia, and survival in an age when reality itself feels stranger than fiction.