Monica Bellucci is returning to Greece for a special cultural occasion, as the international production “Maria Callas – Monica Bellucci: A Meeting” will be presented in Athens. Bellucci arrives as a guest of the cultural organization “Lykofos,” led by Giorgos Lykiardopoulos.

This hybrid documentary by Giannis Dimolitsas and Tom Volf was created during the global tour of the theatrical production “Maria Callas – Letters and Memoirs,” which ran from November 2019 to January 2023.

The film will be screened in Athens for the very first time, on the occasion of Maria Callas’s birthday, on Friday, December 5, at 8 p.m. at the Pallas Theatre, with Bellucci herself in attendance. After the screening, an open discussion with the audience will follow, moderated by Orestis Andreadakis.

The audience is invited to journey between two eras—the present day and the time when Callas reached the height of her legendary fame. At the same time, they witness a dialogue between one of Italy’s great contemporary actresses and the iconic voice that defined the 20th century: two women from different worlds, brought together posthumously through their shared devotion to art.

The film has already garnered glowing reviews and has traveled to major festivals across Europe and the United States (Festival del Cinema di Roma 2023, Thessaloniki Film Festival 2023, MoMA New York 2024, San Sebastián 2024, Lumière Film Festival in Lyon 2024, Marrakech International Film Festival 2024). With Bellucci as its leading figure, the documentary is an international co-production between France, Italy, and Greece, offering an intimate exploration of the life of the legendary soprano.

This project, which began with Greek filmmaker Giannis Dimolitsas documenting Bellucci’s 2021 performance at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, now returns to Athens four years later to complete its triumphant circle. The documentary grew out of the stage production “Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs”—also presented by the cultural organization “Lykofos”—with which Monica Bellucci made her theatrical debut. Her three nights at the Herodeion in 2021 drew unprecedented demand, surpassing every previous benchmark for sold-out performances.