The last days of the life of famed opera singer Maria Callas are examined in Director Pablo Larraín’s biographical drama, Maria. The film follows the American-Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye and finally reckons with her identity and life.

On December 1, after the DGA membership screening in New York, Larraín discussed the making of Maria during a Q&A moderated by Director Paul Schrader (Oh, Canada). He also spoke about the film during a conversation moderated by Director Mike Mills (C'mon C'mon) following the Los Angeles screening on December 8.

During the New York conversation Larraín revealed why he sometimes chooses to operate the camera himself.

“I hate the monitors and I really dislike going through someone to get the shot I like. Honestly, what happens often is that there’s a lot of things happening that I think that we missed because the operator didn’t get what I would have done. Like the chance that they aren’t going look at this, look at that. When you’re shooting on film, what you’re seeing is not exactly what it would be, and you don’t know what’s inside. This is weird, but it’s what happens to me. If I didn’t see it through the camera, I become insecure and I want another take. So, hand me the camera and I can do very few [takes] and be very precise and know if it’s in focus or not, was the right framing, was the right speed and I don’t need to see the monitor to see the take. I’m very close. I see everything through the view finder, and I love it.”

Larraín’s other directorial credits include the feature films El Conde, Spencer, Ema and Jackie; and episodes of the mini-series Lisey's Story and Homemade. He has been a DGA member since 2017.