“If I were to make a film about the life of a soul,it would end up being about me.”
Federico Fellini, Italian film-maker and director.

Federico Fellini was born 20 January, 1920, in Rimini, a resort city on the Adriatic in a family of small trader. From childhood he was fascinated by the circuses and vaudeville performers that his town attracted. Also he loved to draw and later in 1944 even 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). Usually Fellini produced drawings (mostly pencil on paper), often humorous portraits. His first success was in drawing advertising pictures for movies.
Federico Fellini’s first solo-directed film was Lo Sceicco Bianco (1951), with Alberto Sordi, written by Michelangelo Antonioni and Ennio Flaiano, the picture had not big success. But in making this movie Fellini met Nino Rota, the musician that would follow him for the successful rest of his career.

Variety Lights (1950), detailing the intrigues of a group of travelling entertainers, was Fellini’s directorial debut, in collaboration with the established Alberto Lattuada. The White Sheik (1951) and I Vitelloni (1953) followed; the former was a comedy about a woman’s affair with a comic strip hero, the latter a comedy-drama about the aimless lives of a group of young men.
Though Fellini’s earliest films were clearly in the neorealist tradition, from the start his interest in and sympathy for characters’ eccentricities and his penchant for absurdist, sometimes clownish humor, makes them distinguished. Fellini’s international breakthrough came with La Strada (1954). One of the most memorable and moving films of world cinema, it is the story of an innocent, simple young woman (Masina) who is sold by her family to a brutish strongman in a traveling circus. Because Fellini infused his film with surreal scenes, he was accused of violating the precepts of neorealism. Ultimately, La Strada, Fellini’s first unquestioned masterpiece, is a poetic and expressive parable of two unlikely souls journeying toward salvation. The film’s impact is bolstered immeasurably by Nino Rota’s unforgettable music, marking the beginning of collaboration between the two men that would end only with Rota’s death in 1979. A luminous performance by Masina, and the moving Jungian imagery of earth, air, fire and water are also memorable elements of La Strada.

“Le Notti di Cabiria” is one of the director’s best works, a poignant examination of the fallibility and resilience of the human spirit. The film shows the futility of blind faith – in religion, chance and people – whilst, at the same time, reminding us that life, whatever hardships Fate throws in our way, is something to be treasured.

His engrossing social commentary, La Dolce Vita, stands as his timeless masterpiece. A rich, detailed panorama of Rome’s modern decadence and sophisticated immorality, the film features Marcello Mastroianni in an extraordinary performance as Marcello Rubini, a tabloid reporter who is seduced by the indulgences of the “Sweet Life.” Rounding out this extraordinary cast are acclaimed French actress Anouk Aimée and Anita Ekberg, unforgettable as Sylvia.

Selected Filmography

Luci del varietà (1950) (co-credited with Alberto Lattuada)
Lo Sceicco Bianco (1951)
I Vitelloni (1953)
La Strada (1954) Oscar (best foreign movie)
Le Notti di Cabiria (1957) Oscar (best foreign movie)
La Dolce Vita (1960) Oscar (best costumes)
8 1/2 (1963) 2 Oscars (best foreign movie, best costumes)
Giulietta degli Spiriti (1965)
Satyricon (1969)
I Clowns (1970)
Roma (1972)
Amarcord (1973) Oscar (best costumes)
Il Casanova di Federico Fellini (1976)
Prova d’Orchestra (1979)
La Citta’ delle Donne (1980)
E la nave va (1983)
Ginger and Fred (1986)
Intervista (1987)