MARIA

“Only when I was singing did I feel loved…to sing is an expression of your being, a being which is becoming.”

2023 is the centenary of the birth of Maria Callas, one of the greatest operatic icons of all time. Directed by artist and filmmaker Nina Danino, join us for the premiere of MARIA – an experimental film which sees Callas in recordings of different performances including Norma, Tosca and Medea.

Archive materials in different legacy formats, together with newly shot footage, show the ecstatic experience of operatic drama – the voice as it transcends the limits of the body, expressive gesture, opulence and despair, sacrifice… a hypnotic, cinematic, immersive and transcendent vision of an icon.

Nina Danino, who will be joining us to introduce the film, has made experimental films since 1980 when she was based at the London Film-makers’ Co-op. She has exhibited her films internationally. Her previous film Solitude (2022) is a sister film to MARIA which is her fifth feature film. It was produced with an Excellence Award by the Department of Art, Goldsmiths where she is Reader in Fine Art.