“Maria By Callas”- A MUST SEE FILM

 “Maria By Callas: In Her Own Words”- A MUST SEE FILM by Leticia Marie Sanchez Directed by Tom Volf, “Maria by Callas,” offers a sublime, moving portrait of a legendary opera singer using never-before-seen footage. The film dispels the notion that Callas reigned as a diva, revealing instead the grace, poise, and self-restraint she showed while perpetually facing intrusive harassment by the media. Through the film, one gains insight into the cruelty of the headlines towards the opera singer, who was called tempestuous, for instance, simply for having bronchitis. The world expected her to be beyond human, but the film revels in her humanity.  As Callas herself noted, those around her, including her ex-husband seemed drunk on the glory of being in her orbit; meanwhile the star, no matter how successful, continued to focus obsessively on her vocal craft. Even in

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Film Review: Mozart’s Sister- now playing in Los Angeles and New York

by Leticia Marie Sanchez Mozart’s Sister, directed by René Féret,  presents a behind-the-scenes look at the life of the Mozart family: ambitious patriarch Leopold, his doting wife Anna-Maria, and his gifted children Woofgang and Nannerl (played by Feret’s daughter, Marie). The film contrasts the exterior aspect of the musical family, including the children’s performances at court with an interior portrait of a family who engages in pillow fights at bed-time, and more sinisterly, the unyielding favoritism that Leopold showed his young son. The rigid Leopold squelches his young daughter’s talents by not only refusing her an education, but by falsely telling her that her compositions (which he passes off as those of Wolfgang) lack merit. The mistreatment of Nannerl was not unusual at the time.  In his book “The Other Mendelssohn,” Larry Todd describes the life of another talented and relatively

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Review: Young Director’s Night at LACMA

Review: Young Director’s Night at LACMA by Leticia Marie Sanchez On March 5, LACMA Muse presented its 10th Annual Young Director’s Night. Six talented young directors presented a wide range of creative films. Left. Sylvia Sether’s “Overdrawn.” Winner of the Art of Film Award Cat Youell’s “The Mischievous Case of Cordelia Botkin” brought to light a true story episode from 19th century San Francisco history (death by chocolate) with charm and humor.  Sylvia Sether’s “Overdrawn,” (and winner of the Fourth Art of Film Award) exhibited comedic chops and timing in its depiction of a single bank teller pushed to the edge. Jordan Bloch’s “Underdogs,” created unsettling tension as a bounty hunter wreaked havoc amongst diners in a roadside restaurant. Left. “House of Olive Trees” directed by Thouly Dosiois Thouly Dosiois’ beautifully shot “House of the Olive Trees,” set in Greece,

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