“MARIA by Callas,” a 2017 French documentary film about the life and career of opera singer Maria Callas (1923-1977), will be screened in China starting Friday.

The film depicts the life story of the famous Greek-American soprano Callas in her own words. First-time filmmaker Tom Volf reconstructed her story through TV interviews, photos, letters and unpublished memoirs — nearly all of which have never been shown to the public.

While numerous books have been written about the tumultuous life of Callas, Volf largely focuses on a story showing the positive aspects of her life, one he thinks she herself would have approved.

The film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.

Volf said that he had the blessing of the two people closest to Callas, her butler and maid, whom she considered her family. “They of course suffered a lot of things that happened about Callas in the last 40 years that were picturing her in a caricature: the scandals, the diva and also the things that were done about her intimate life that were going too far,” said Volf.

“And I think they understand that my take was first extremely respectful, not looking for any gossip or any sensational news but an honest work, that I would duly respect her as a woman and as an artist,” he said. “Therefore I received a lot of help because they felt this was the right thing to do. This was the thing they hoped would be done someday.”

In some instances the film works to set the record straight on historical gossip, including the infamous 1958 “Rome Walkout” that was said to have ruined her career. Suffering from bronchitis, Callas cancelled a performance of “Norma” after the first act, and was accused of walking out on the president of Italy, as well as the many notable stars in attendance. While the president’s wife called Callas afterwards, the media had a field day with the story, portraying her as a diva who wouldn’t finish performances.

In other instances the film drops hints at her inner turmoil, such as her strained relationship with her family or her depression after Aristotle Onassis left her for Jacqueline Kennedy, but this is limited to small sound bites she gives away in personal letters without going in-depth into her struggles.

In one TV interview, Callas described how her favorite hobby was collecting recipes for extravagant foods, but the film shies away from showing how she collected recipes as a way to vicariously enjoy rich foods that she would never actually indulge in.

Volf said it was a conscious decision not to include the lifelong eating disorder that plagued her after she was made to rapidly lose 100 pounds for a role. “Of course I had only two hours so I had to make a choice of what story I was telling, and I had to leave aside some stories,” said Volf.

The documentary premiered at the Rome Film Festival in 2017 and has earned high critical praise.(SD-Agencies)