Angelina Jolie Is 'Overwhelmed' by Positive Response to Maria: 'It Was a Vulnerable Project' (Exclusive Source)

Angelina Jolie is enjoying enthusiastic reactions to her new film Maria.

A source tells PEOPLE that the Oscar winner, 49, is “overwhelmed and so grateful for all the positive feedback about” Pablo Larraín’s new biopic, in which she plays opera singer Maria Callas.

“It’s a moving experience. It was a vulnerable project. She’s excited,” the insider adds.

Maria recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival before Jolie and Larraín, 48, returned to the US to present their film at the Telluride Film Festival.

A Telluride-based festival insider says, “Angelina looked like she was having a great time surrounded by the film community at the annual class photo. Everyone was trying to get a photo with her.”

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Angelina Jolie and Naomi Watts at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2024 in Telluride, Colorado.

Vivien Killilea/Getty

Angelina Jolie earned a standing ovation in Telluride for Mariashe says she was ‘out of her mind’ with nerves when she sang

Among the A-list colleagues with whom the actress and director hung out were Naomi Watts, Pharrell and John David Washington.

“This is a return to Telluride for her and she loved going there [see other] films,” adds the festival insider about Jolie.

In addition to chatting with fellow celebrities at the festival, Jolie stopped in town to chat with a few film students. She was also seen beaming at the two Maria screening, and received a standing ovation when Larraín performed it during the screening event.

Maria received standing ovations at the Venice and Telluride festivals – including an eight-minute one in Italy that moved Jolie to tears.

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Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Maria (2024).

Pablo LarraÃn

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The actress opened up about her “nerves” while filming the film while at festivals, revealing she had never sung before playing Callas and how she relates to the late opera diva.

“I think the way I treated her might be a surprise – [it was] probably a part of her that is extremely soft and has no place in the world to be as soft as she truly was, and as emotionally open as she truly was, Jolie said at a press conference in Venice on Thursday, August 29.

Also asked how she felt about the possible Oscar buzz surrounding her performance, she said her success was based more on reactions from Callas fans “and those who love opera.”

I’m afraid not to disappoint them, Jolie explained to reporters. “So, of course, all the other things, in my business, if there is a response to the work, I’m very grateful.”

O Callas added: “More than anything, I share her vulnerability.”

Netflix has acquired the rights to Maria, but the release date has not been announced yet.

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Source: HIS Education