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Federico FelliniFilm director and screenwriter.
Date of Birth: 20.01.1920
Country:  Italy |
Content:
Biography of Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, an Italian film director and screenwriter, is rightfully considered one of the greatest cinematographers of the second half of the 20th century. In Italy, he was not just a talented director, but a symbol, a hero, and a hope. A hope for the possibility of pure art in the world of mass media and pop culture. And even when the director passed away, this hope did not die because Fellini's work was always open to new generations of filmmakers.
Early Life
Federico Fellini was born on January 20, 1920, in the small Italian town of Rimini. His father was a traveling salesman, and his mother was a homemaker. He had two siblings, Maria and Riccardo. Fellini grew up as a sickly child, often complaining of dizziness and fainting spells. In his childhood, he loved everything bright and colorful. His favorite pastime was making masks and costumes for performances. The arrival of a traveling circus made a big impression on Federico. He ran away from home and spent several days with the wandering troupe. After completing his monastic school in 1937, Fellini moved to Florence, where he worked as a caricaturist for his longtime friend's company. A year later, he moved to Rome, which captured the director's heart forever. In Rome, Fellini earned a living by drawing for magazines and newspapers, as well as writing humorous works for the publication "Mark Aurelius." It was during this time that he began writing his first screenplays. Fellini also studied law at the University of Rome for about a year, not because he wanted to become a lawyer, but to defer military service. When he was expelled, he had to simulate various illnesses to avoid being drafted into the army.
Early Career
In 1943, Fellini married aspiring actress Giulietta Masina, with whom he spent his entire life. Their only son, born in 1945, was too weak and died within a month. Fellini began his career in cinema thanks to director Roberto Rossellini. Together, they wrote the screenplay for the film "Rome, Open City," which marked the beginning of the neorealism movement. The film was incredibly successful, and Fellini instantly became a renowned screenwriter. He wrote several more screenplays for Rossellini's works and also appeared in Rossellini's film "Love." In 1950, Fellini directed his first feature film, "Variety Lights." In this film and his subsequent works, such as "The White Sheik" (1952) and "I Vitelloni" (1953), traces of neorealism were still present. However, Fellini's main characteristics as a filmmaker – mocking irony, carnival-like imagination, autobiographical elements, mystification, and Catholicism – became dominant in his film "La Strada" (1954). After its release, it was clear that Fellini's poetics radically differed from neorealism. "La Strada" tells the story of itinerant circus performers forced to live in a cold and indifferent world. Their lives are so degrading and hopeless that they evoke disgust rather than sympathy. This touching film, perceived as a metaphor for human existence, was highly praised by the global film community. It received the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Fellini's popularity extended beyond Europe and reached the United States. Interestingly, his wife Giulietta Masina, who played the lead female role in the film, was called the "Chaplin in a skirt." In Italy, many criticized Fellini for deviating from neorealism towards universalism, but he did not stray from his chosen path. The theme of "La Strada" was continued in the drama "Nights of Cabiria" (1957), which tells the story of a prostitute dreaming of a better life. Masina's performance in the film earned her numerous film awards. Fellini received his second Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for this work.
Career Peaks
In 1960, Fellini released his most acclaimed film, "La Dolce Vita." In it, he depicted the empty and meaningless lives of bourgeois individuals, cynical journalists, and pompous clergymen. The film sparked numerous debates and interpretations and was banned from screening for several months. However, this only increased interest in it. "La Dolce Vita" was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and later acquired cult status as an epochal film. The same status was obtained by Fellini's work "8½" (1963), an autobiographical drama that combines dreams, fantasies, childhood memories, fleeting joys of everyday life, dreams of the future, and reflections on the meaning of existence. The innovative associative editing used in the film made it a true masterpiece of cinema.
Later Works and Legacy
In the 1970s, Fellini turned to his childhood and youth, creating two truly significant films. The semi-documentary work "Roma" (1972) paid tribute to the place where he spent the best years of his life. In this film, he celebrated the Eternal City, its history and present, its inhabitants and architecture, its grandeur and baseness. The film "Amarcord" (1973), which means "I Remember" in Fellini's native dialect, also tells the story of a city, but this time it is Rimini, where the director spent his childhood. In a satirical and absurd style, Fellini portrays the times of Mussolini and attempts to understand the essence of Italian fascism. He received his third Academy Award for this film.
In the last decade of his life, Fellini began to repeat himself more and more. Although he continued to receive awards at film festivals, he gradually lost popularity with the audience. He even had to shoot commercials, despite his negative attitude towards television and advertising. In 1993, Fellini received an honorary Academy Award for his contribution to the art of cinema, but six months later, he passed away. So many people came to bid farewell to the greatest director that movement in Rome was halted.
Federico Fellini's art, which intertwined comedy and tragedy, fantasy and reality, emotionality and intellect, was groundbreaking throughout three decades of the 20th century. It was like an "open book" from which several generations of audiences and filmmakers drew knowledge. But this does not mean that it has been completely exhausted.
