DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Mary, Marianna, Maria – The Unsung Greek Years of Callas by Vasilis Louras & Michalis Asthenidis

Thursday, March 21st 2024, 7:30 p.m., Hall 1, directors present, Q&A after the screening in OVAL

Repetition: Friday, March 22nd 2024, 8:00 p.m., Hall 3, directors present, Q&A after the screening in Mirror Room

-> Tickets here!

The documentary seeks to shed light on the years in which Maria Callas came of age as a woman and as an artist – that is, in Athens during the Second World War – but also on the years after 1957, when the diva, by then renowned internationally, reconnected with Greece. Her foremost artistic achievements and little-known debuts, the figures who so influenced her, and the major landmarks in her development as an artist, but also the prevailing social and political circumstances in Greece during World War II, the Greek Civil War milieu of the 1940s and ’50s, and the unjust attacks she endured; these are the key narrative threads used to tell the story of the troubled, novel-like life of Callas, who always walked the line between tragedy and triumph.

Vasilis Louras

Vasilis Louras studied Marketing in Athens and continued with postgraduate studies in Cultural Policy and Cultural Management in London. He worked in the field of promotion and communication of cultural events. He took over the coordination of the Cultural Year of Greece in China, in the framework of the parallel events of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Since 2011, he has been working at the Greek National Opera, initially as Head of Promotion and Communication and now as Artistic Advisor for Planning and Communication. He made the research for, wrote and co-directed – together with Michalis Asthenidis – the documentary Mary, Marianna, Maria – The Unsung Greek Years of Callas.

Michalis Asthenidis

Michalis Asthenidis was born in 1977 in Athens, where he lives and works. He studied marketing in Athens and completed his postgraduate studies in Museum Studies & Consumption in Edinburgh. He has been professionally involved in film directing and production since 2005. He has worked with film and TV production companies, such as TTN media group, View studio, Studio Alpha, XXL prod, Magikon, Stefi, Filmiki, White Wolves, FossOnAir etc. He has also worked as an editor and DOP on short films, music videos and commercials. Since 2012, when he founded 2amkinematography for TV and commercial productions, he has been working as a freelance director. In 2018, he started working with the Greek National Opera to create films and videos. He is behind the production, co-direction – together with Vasilis Louras – and editing of the documentary Mary, Marianna, Maria – The Unsung Greek Years of Callas.