Angelina Jolie dazzles Venice Film Festival with ‘Maria,’ a biopic about opera legend Maria Callas

Associated Press

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Angelina Jolie portrays renowned opera singer Maria Callas in a film premiering at the Venice Film Festival Thursday. From Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, “Maria” focuses in on her life in Paris in the 70s before her death at 53. Jolie has made a grand entrance on the docks of Venice, posing for photographers in a drapey brown dress with hair long and loose. Larraín brought his two previous famous historical women films, “Jackie” and “Spencer,” to Venice where both went on to get best actress Oscar nominations for their leads. “Maria” was acquired by Netflix for distribution. It’s among the 21 features competing for the festival’s awards, which will be announced on Sept. 7.