Maria by Callas: Film Screening and Q&A

Thursday 16 Nov 2023

A screening of Maria by Callas (2017), an intimate look at the life and work of Greek-American opera singer Maria Callas, as told in her own words through the use of archive footage and other sources.

Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs – most of which have never been shown to the public – the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become an international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.

Maria by Callas premiered at the Rome Film Festival in 2017 and at New York Film Festival in 2018. It was released theatrically in over 50 countries since.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director and producer Tom Volf, President of the Maria Callas Foundation, who will share his specialist knowledge on Callas.

Tom Volf is a film & stage director. His work as a director spreads from filming for the Opera through fashion advertising and institutional documentaries for television broadcast and international communication, such as OECD. He has long collaborated with publishing houses to promote book releases, and with several shows for which he directed broadcasts.

Since 2013, he started a major project on Maria Callas, traveling the globe to uncover new material and lost archives. He has met about thirty of Callas’ closest friends and colleagues, with whom he filmed over 60 hours of interviews, and gathered a tremendous amount of previously unseen material. His film was released in 2017 in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Callas’ passing.

He has established since 2017 the Maria Callas Foundation in Paris, along with friends & family members of the artist, with the aim of preserving the legacy of Callas and ultimately creating a Museum dedicated to her.