Pablo Larrain’s ‘Maria,’ Starring Angelina Jolie, Sells to Key International Territories

FilmNation Entertainment has sold key international territories on Pablo Larraín‘s “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie, which had its world premiere in the main competition section of the Venice film Festival.

The international buyers are Studiocanal (U.K., Germany, Poland), ARP (France), 01 Distribution (Italy), Latin America/Spain/Portugal/South Africa (Sun Distribution), Switzerland (Pathe), Benelux (The Searchers), Czech Republic (AQS), Greece (Faliro House), Israel (Lev), Middle East (Italia), Bulgaria/Ex-Yugoslavia (MCF), Ukraine (Green Light), Baltics (Acme), and Turkey (Bir).

Netflix will release the film in the U.S., as announced this week.

The film is described as a “creative imagining” and a psychological portrait of opera singer Maria Callas. It takes place in the 1970s near the end of her life, when she has lost her voice and tries to regain it. The film is about “someone who decides to finally find her own voice, her own identity, and finally do something for herself,” according to a statement.

According to the Variety review: “Jolie’s performance is, in many ways, quite fine. From the moment she appears on screen, she seizes our attention, playing Maria as woman of wiles who is imperious, mysterious, fusing the life force of a genius diva with the downbeat emotional fire of a femme fatale.”

“Maria” marks the third film in Larraín’s work exploring iconic female protagonists, following “Jackie” (2016) and “Spencer” (2021).

The cast of the film, written by Steven Knight (“Spencer,” “Peaky Blinders”), includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino and Valeria Golino. The producers are Juan de Dios Larraín, Jonas Dornbach and Lorenzo Mieli.

The production companies are The Apartment, Fabula, Komplizen and Fremantle.

Fremantle Group financed the film.

More to follow.