The GNO will be showcasing three documentaries at the 26th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival

Mary, Marianna, Maria: The Unsung Greek Years of Callas
by Vasilis Louras & Michalis Asthenidis
11 March 2024, 21.00

A Portrait of the Collector as a Mature Man
by Panayotis Evangelidis
11 March 2024, 16.30

That Day
by Stratis Vogiatzis & Dimitris Kourtis
15 March 2024, 16.00

The Greek National Opera takes part in the 26th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival –which will be held from 7 to 17 March 2024– with three documentaries, created in 2023, as part of its extensive programming.

On March 11th, two documentaries, Mary, Marianna, Maria: The Unsung Greek Years of Callas by Vasilis Louras and Michalis Asthenidis, and A Portrait of the Collector as a Mature Man by Panayotis Evangelidis, will be screened as part of the Maria Callas Tribute. Both documentaries were created as part of the Greek National Opera tribute programme marking the centennial of Maria Callas’ birth, sponsored by the PPC (Public Power Corporation). This programme was made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the GNO’s artistic outreach.

On March 15th, the documentary That Day by Stratis Vogiatzis and Dimitris Kourtis will premiere in the Open Horizons section. It is a cinematic portrayal of Melisma, a series of educational and artistic activities that were conducted by the Greek National Opera in Northern Evia, following the devastating wildfires of 2021. The documentary also uncovers the landscape through the lens of myths and stories. The programme was funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.

A Portrait of the Collector as a Mature Man

11 March 2024, at 16.30
John Cassavetes Hall (Warehouse 1, Port)
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the creative team.
Directed by: Panayotis Evangelidis
Script: Panayotis Evangelidis
Cinematography: Panayotis Evangelidis
Editing: Athina Boutari-Lalaouni
Sound: Panayotis Evangelidis, Persefoni Miliou
Co-production: Greek National Opera, Long Run Productions
Producer: Leonidas Liambeys
GNO Maria Callas Tribute programme curator: Giorgos Koumendakis

Panayotis Evangelidis’ A Portrait of the Collector as a Mature Man was commissioned by the Greek National Opera for the Maria Callas Tribute Programme and was featured as part of the exhibition UNBOXING CALLAS: An Archival Exploration of the Pyromallis Collection and the GNO Archive, curated by Vassilis Zidianakis. It is a portrayal of collector Dimitris Pyromallis, who donated his entire Maria Callas collection to the Greek National Opera.
When he was four years old, Maria Callas took him into her arms and danced with him. At twenty, long after she had “departed”, he began to discover her work and grew fascinated by her. He never went on holiday; every drachma and euro he made, he set aside to buy recordings, books, photos, posters, and programmes related to her, and money was always short. Alongside his life, as he worked two jobs to make ends meet, with his misfortunes, romantic disappointments, jealous friends, an accident that led to ten surgeries and a disability, his collection grew. Haunted by the two women in his life –his mother who died too young and the Diva, a constant reference and reverence for him– he grew and found fulfilment along with his collection. Now, he is serene with many joys and memories from his life, dreaming of the afternoon when his mother will knock on his door, and they will share a coffee together. He would sacrifice everything for that moment, even his collection.

Advance ticket sale: https://www.more.com/cinema/tidf26/

As part of the 2023 UNESCO Maria Callas Anniversary
proposed by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture

Documentary Sponsor & Maria Callas Tribute Sponsor
PPC (Public Power Corporation)

Lead Donor of the GNO & Maria Callas Tribute Donor
THE STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION

Mary, Marianna, Maria: The Unsung Greek Years of Callas

11 March 2024, at 21.00
John Cassavetes Hall (Warehouse 1, Port)
The screening will be preceded by an introductory address from Orestis Andreadakis (Artistic Director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival), Giorgos Koumendakis (Artistic Director of the Greek National Opera), Alexandros Kambouroglou (Programs Co-Director at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation), and Sofia Dimtsa (Corporate Affairs & Communications Director of the PPC Group).
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the creative team.
Directed by: Michalis Asthenidis, Vasilis Louras
Research, script, narrator: Vasilis Louras
Research consultants: Aris Christofellis, Sophia Kompotiati
Cinematography: Fotis Zygouris
Editing: Michalis Asthenidis
Co-production: Greek National Opera, ESCAPE
Producer: Stella Angeletou
GNO Maria Callas Tribute programme curator: Giorgos Koumendakis

In honour of the 100th anniversary of Maria Callas' birth, the Greek National Opera partnered with ESCAPE to produce the documentary Mary, Marianna, Maria: The Unsung Greek Years of Callas, researched and written by Vasilis Louras, and directed by Michalis Asthenidis and Vasilis Louras.

Making use of rare archival documentation, never-before-released recordings, interviews, and other audio material, the documentary seeks to shed light on the years in which 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.

While the trauma of the war would trail Callas throughout her life, it is nevertheless quite clear that the foundations for her later artistic achievements were laid during those difficult years she spent in Athens. And it is not just that she was trained in the city by Elvira de Hidalgo – it is also that she gained invaluable on-stage and performance experience through her appearances at the Greek National Opera. And, on a more personal level, it was during those eight years that she tapped the inner strength she needed to transform every difficulty, every challenge, and every onslaught into the resources and grit she would tap later in life.

Advance ticket sale: https://www.more.com/cinema/tidf26/

As part of the 2023 UNESCO Maria Callas Anniversary
proposed by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture

Documentary kindly sponsored by
The Ulysses & Florica Kyriacopoulos Family

Documentary Sponsor & Maria Callas Tribute Sponsor
PPC (Public Power Corporation)

Lead Donor of the GNO & Maria Callas Tribute Donor
THE STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION

That Day

15 March 2024, at 16.00
John Cassavetes Hall (Warehouse 1, Port)
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the creative team.
Directed by: Stratis Vogiatzis, Dimitris Kourtis
Script: Stratis Vogiatzis, Dimitris Kourtis
Cinematography: Stratis Vogiatzis, Dimitris Kourtis, Dora Kalakidou
Editing: Nikos Vavouris, Haris Raftogiannis
Sound: Dimitris Kourtis
Music: Chrysanthos Christodoulou
Production: Greek National Opera
Producer: Leonidas Panagopoulos
Narrator: Stratis Vogiatzis

From September 2022 and for almost a year, the Learning & Participation Department of the Greek National Opera carried out a programme of educational and artistic activities for people of all ages in Northern Evia, titled Melisma. The artistic workshops as well as the personal stories of those who took part in them were captured by the cinematic lens of Stratis Vogiatzis and Dimitris Kourtis (Caravan Project), the creators of the documentary That Day. The directors kept a close eye on the creative development of the dance and music narrative Endless Land, which explores the themes of destruction and rebirth and was featured for the first time in July 2023, in Kechries, Evia. At the same time, they wandered through both the charred and revitalised terrain, walking along trails and seeking out myths and stories. They got carried away in adventurous encounters with the guardians of this land: a carpenter who rebuilds his burnt carpentry workshop, a woodcarver who carves scorched tree trunks, transforming destruction into new and peculiar forms, and a horse whisperer who converses with animals. The documentary is a filmic essay on the relationship between the human and non-human worlds, inspired by the devastating wildfire in Northern Evia, in August 2021.

This documentary will also be available online on the 16th & 17th of March at: https://online.filmfestival.gr/film/ekeine-te-mera-that-day/

Advance ticket sale: https://www.more.com/cinema/tidf26/

The programme Melisma was funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.

Lead Donor of the GNO Learning & Participation Department
THE STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION