Federico
Fellini was one of the most influential and widely revered Italian
film-makers of the 20th century and is considered to be one of the
finest film directors of all time. Fellini's films typically combine
memory, dreams, fantasy, and desire.
Born
in and raised in Rimini, his childhood experiences would later
play an important part in many of his films. Fellini's first solo-directed
film was Lo Sceicco Bianco (1951), with Alberto Sordi, written
by Michelangelo Antonioni and Ennio Flaiano. In making this movie
Fellini met Nino Rota, the musician who would follow him for the
successful remainder of his career.
In
addition to making films, he also wrote scripts for radio shows,
for movies (mainly for Rossellini) and wrote comic gags for well
known actors like Aldo Fabrizi. Fellini also produced several
drawings (mostly pencil on paper), often humorous portraits. It
is with these works that young Fellini encountered cinema: his
first success was in drawing advertising pictures for movies.
During
Mussolini's Fascist regime, he was an Avanguardista, and his first
writings were for Alleanza Cinematografica Italiana (ACI), the
production company of Vittorio Mussolini, son of Benito, who introduced
him to Roberto Rossellini, husband of Swedish-born actress Ingrid
Bergman.
In
1944, after Mussolini's downfall, Fellini opened a shop in Rome
in which he sold his drawings. The shop was named (in English)
"The Funny Face Shop", and contained works from Fellini
and De Seta, Verdini, Camerini, Scarpelli, Majorana, Guasta, Giobbe,
Attalo, Migneco (all writers, directors or otherwise intellectuals
working for Italian cinema). A major inspiration for Fellini was
Goethe, the author of Faust. In the same year he started his contribution
to Rossellini's Roma città aperta, starring Aldo Fabrizi.
Fellini also took part in writing another of Rossellini's movies,
Paisà. He wrote also for other directors such as Alberto
Lattuada, Pietro Germi, and Luigi Comencini.
Fellini's
wife, actress Giulietta Masina (married in 1943) was often in
his movies. Other actors with whom Fellini frequently worked include
Marcello Mastroianni, Alberto Sordi, and Anita Ekberg.
In
1945 Fellini had a son who survived for only 2 weeks; he was the
only son of Fellini and Giulietta Masina. In 1948 Fellini acted
in Rossellini's Il Miracolo. Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
and 1980s his films were widely acclaimed, but he was never awarded
an Oscar for directing.
In
1991 Fellini's text "Trip to Tulum" was translated into
English by Stefano Gaudiano and published in a graphic form in
the magazine Crisis with artwork by Milo Manara. In 1993 he received
an Academy Award ("Oscar") for his lifetime achievement.
That same year, he died in Rome at the age of 73.
The
Federico Fellini International Airport in Rimini, is named in
his honor. |
