Federico Fellini

Federico Fellini - Scriptwriter, Career and Life

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Federico Fellini's Personal Details

Federico Fellini was a renowned Italian filmmaker and scriptwriter

InformationDetail
BirthdayJanuary 20, 1920
Died onOctober 31, 1993
NationalityItalian
FamousFilm & Theater Personalities, Directors, Writers, ENTP, Film Director, Scriptwriter
SpousesGiulietta Masina (m. 1943–1993)
SiblingsMaria Maddalena (m. Fabbri; 1929–2002), Riccardo (1921–1991)
ChildrensPierfederico
Universities
  • Carlo Tonni public school
  • University of Rome
Birth PlaceRimini, Kingdom of Italy
GenderMale
FatherUrbano Fellini (1894–1956)
MotherIda Barbiani (1896–1984)
Net Worth$10 million
Sun SignCapricorn
Born inRimini, Kingdom of Italy
Famous asFilm Director and Scriptwriter
Died at Age73

Federico Fellini's photo

Who is Federico Fellini?

Federico Fellini is one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of the last century. Over a career of more than fifty years, he won five Academy Awards. He won the most Oscars in history for Best Foreign Language Film. Starting work as an assistant scriptwriter, he gained access to the inner workings of how films are created and edited. Films such as Roma città aperta and Paisà were nominated for their screen plays. Soon, he progressed to directing films and created master pieces such as Nights of Cabiria, 8½, Juliet of the Spirits, La Strada, La Dolce Vita and Amarcord. His films offer a combination of themes including memory, dreams, fantasy and desire giving rise to the term "Felliniesque" used when depicting an ordinary scene that has been altered by the addition of hallucinatory imagery.

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Childhood & Early Life

Fellini was born on January 20, 1920 in Rimini, then a small town on the Adriatic Sea, on January 20, 1920, to Urbano Fellini and Ida Barbiani. He had two younger siblings: Riccardo, a documentary director for RAI Television, and Maria Maddalena.

In 1926, he began attending the Carlo Tonni public school. He spent his leisure time drawing, staging puppet shows, and loved the American cartoons in the corriere dei piccoli, the popular children’s magazine.

In 1926, he was introduced to the world of Grand Guignol, the circus with Pierino the Clown, and Guido Brignone’s ‘Maciste all’Inferno’ became the first film he saw.

In 1939, he enrolled at the University of Rome law school on his parents’ insistence but never attended classes. Instead, he spent time with his newly made lifelong friend, painter Rinaldo Geleng.

Career

He soon joined the editorial board of Marc’Aurelio, the biweekly humor magazine, and wrote a regular column which gave him steady employment between 1939 and 1942, and enabled interactions with scriptwriters.

The famous actor Fabrizi recruited Fellini to continue supplying stories and ideas for his performances. Between 1939 and 1944, they worked on a number of largely forgotten comedies, including No Me Lo Dire.

Roma città aperta or Rome, Open City, a 1945 Italian war drama film, was directed by Roberto Rossellini. The screen play was co-written by Sergio Amidei and Fellini for which they received Oscar nominations.

Between 1946 and 1948, he worked as screenwriter and assistant director on Rossellini’s Paisà (Paisan), co-wrote Alberto Lattuada’ Senza and Il mulino del Po, and worked with Rossellini on the anthology film L'Amore.

In 1950, he co-produced and co-directed with Lattuada, Variety Lights, but its poor performance left the production company bankrupt. The White Sheik, the following year, his first solo-directed feature, was trashed by critics.

I Vitelloni, a 1953 comedy, restored his reputation as a director. He co-wrote the screenplay with Ennio Flaiano, and Tullio Pinelli. It received a Venice Film Festival Silver Lion and an Oscar nomination.

He directed and wrote the story for Nights of Cabiria, in 1957. Hailed as a cinematic masterpiece, the film is about a waifish prostitute who wanders Rome’ streets searching for true love.

With, 8½, his writer's block became the subject of perhaps his greatest film, in1963. The story is of a filmmaker (Mastroianni) attempting to mount a movie which remains unmade.

He directed, and co-wrote the story and screen-play for, Juliet of the Spirits, a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film about a middle-aged woman’s memories and mysticism that gives her strength to leave her philandering husband.

In 1982, a major exhibition of his 63 drawings was held in Paris, Brussels, and New York. His sketches were inspired by his own dreams and stimulated drawings for characters, costumes and set designs.

In 1989, he directed ‘The Voice of the Moon’, which is about a fake inspector of wells and a former prefect who wander through the countryside and discovers a dystopia of television commercials, fascism and Catholicism.

Between 1991 and 1992, he collaborated with Canadian filmmaker Damian Pettigrew and recorded detailed conversation on films that became the basis of their feature documentary, Fellini: I'm a Born Liar, and a book.

Major Works

Fellini’s La Strada (The Road), released in 1954, was described by a critic as “an unfinished poem,” and won fifty international awards. He co-wrote the screenplay with Pinelli and Flaiano.

La Dolce Vita, a 1960 comedy-drama film by him, follows Marcello Rubini, on his fruitless search for love and happiness. It was voted 6th greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Amarcord, a 1973 comedy-drama film directed by him, is a semi-autobiographical tale about an adolescent boy growing up among eccentric characters in an Italian village. A critic described Fellini as "an artist at his peak”.

Awards

Fellini received four Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film categories for La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, 8½, and Amarcord, and was nominated many times for Best Screen Play and Best Direction.

He shone at film festivals wining the Silver Lion for I Vitelloni and La Strada at the Venice Festival, a Palme d'Or for La Dolce Vita at Cannes and 8½, in Moscow and Berlin.

He was made the Grande Ufficiale OMRI, the Gran Croce OMRI and finally the Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI, progressively the highest ranks in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

He was honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, European Film Awards for Lifetime Achievement, Japan Art Association's Praemium Imperiale and 1993 the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement

Personal Life & Legacy

Fellini married Giulietta Masina in 1943, an Italian film and stage actress. Their son Pierfederico tragically lived for only one month and died of encephalitis in 1944. Masina and Fellini did not have another child. The couple remained together till his death in 1993.

Fellini, Masina and their son Pierfederico are buried in a bronze sepulchre sculpted by Arnaldo Pomodoro. Designed as a ship's prow, the tomb is located at the main entrance to the Cemetery of Rimini.

Trivia

This Italian film director’s recipe for a good film -"A good opening and a good ending make for a good film provided they come close together”.

Declared the 10th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, the term "paparazzi" comes from a character named Paparazzo in his one of his films, who is a journalist photographing celebrities.

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Federico Fellini's awards

YearNameAward

BAFTA Awards

1978Best Production Design/Art DirectionIl Casanova di Federico Fellini (1976)

Federico Fellini biography timelines

  • // 20th Jan 1920
    Fellini was born on January 20, 1920 in Rimini, then a small town on the Adriatic Sea, on January 20, 1920, to Urbano Fellini and Ida Barbiani. He had two younger siblings: Riccardo, a documentary director for RAI Television, and Maria Maddalena.
  • // 1926
    In 1926, he began attending the Carlo Tonni public school. He spent his leisure time drawing, staging puppet shows, and loved the American cartoons in the corriere dei piccoli, the popular children’s magazine.
  • // 1926
    In 1926, he was introduced to the world of Grand Guignol, the circus with Pierino the Clown, and Guido Brignone’s ‘Maciste all’Inferno’ became the first film he saw.
  • // 1939
    In 1939, he enrolled at the University of Rome law school on his parents’ insistence but never attended classes. Instead, he spent time with his newly made lifelong friend, painter Rinaldo Geleng.
  • // 1939 To 1942
    He soon joined the editorial board of Marc’Aurelio, the biweekly humor magazine, and wrote a regular column which gave him steady employment between 1939 and 1942, and enabled interactions with scriptwriters.
  • // 1939 To 1944
    The famous actor Fabrizi recruited Fellini to continue supplying stories and ideas for his performances. Between 1939 and 1944, they worked on a number of largely forgotten comedies, including No Me Lo Dire.
  • // 1943 To 1993
    Fellini married Giulietta Masina in 1943, an Italian film and stage actress. Their son Pierfederico tragically lived for only one month and died of encephalitis in 1944. Masina and Fellini did not have another child. The couple remained together till his death in 1993.
  • // 1945
    Roma città aperta or Rome, Open City, a 1945 Italian war drama film, was directed by Roberto Rossellini. The screen play was co-written by Sergio Amidei and Fellini for which they received Oscar nominations.
  • // 1946 To 1948
    Between 1946 and 1948, he worked as screenwriter and assistant director on Rossellini’s Paisà (Paisan), co-wrote Alberto Lattuada’ Senza and Il mulino del Po, and worked with Rossellini on the anthology film L'Amore.
  • // 1950
    In 1950, he co-produced and co-directed with Lattuada, Variety Lights, but its poor performance left the production company bankrupt. The White Sheik, the following year, his first solo-directed feature, was trashed by critics.
  • // 1953
    I Vitelloni, a 1953 comedy, restored his reputation as a director. He co-wrote the screenplay with Ennio Flaiano, and Tullio Pinelli. It received a Venice Film Festival Silver Lion and an Oscar nomination.
  • // 1954
    Fellini’s La Strada (The Road), released in 1954, was described by a critic as “an unfinished poem,” and won fifty international awards. He co-wrote the screenplay with Pinelli and Flaiano.
  • // 1957
    He directed and wrote the story for Nights of Cabiria, in 1957. Hailed as a cinematic masterpiece, the film is about a waifish prostitute who wanders Rome’ streets searching for true love.
  • // 1960
    La Dolce Vita, a 1960 comedy-drama film by him, follows Marcello Rubini, on his fruitless search for love and happiness. It was voted 6th greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
  • // 1963
    With, 8½, his writer's block became the subject of perhaps his greatest film, in1963. The story is of a filmmaker (Mastroianni) attempting to mount a movie which remains unmade.
  • // 1965
    He directed, and co-wrote the story and screen-play for, Juliet of the Spirits, a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film about a middle-aged woman’s memories and mysticism that gives her strength to leave her philandering husband.
  • // 1973
    Amarcord, a 1973 comedy-drama film directed by him, is a semi-autobiographical tale about an adolescent boy growing up among eccentric characters in an Italian village. A critic described Fellini as "an artist at his peak”.
  • // 1982
    In 1982, a major exhibition of his 63 drawings was held in Paris, Brussels, and New York. His sketches were inspired by his own dreams and stimulated drawings for characters, costumes and set designs.
  • // 1989
    In 1989, he directed ‘The Voice of the Moon’, which is about a fake inspector of wells and a former prefect who wander through the countryside and discovers a dystopia of television commercials, fascism and Catholicism.
  • // 1991 To 1992
    Between 1991 and 1992, he collaborated with Canadian filmmaker Damian Pettigrew and recorded detailed conversation on films that became the basis of their feature documentary, Fellini: I'm a Born Liar, and a book.
  • // 1993
    He was honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, European Film Awards for Lifetime Achievement, Japan Art Association's Praemium Imperiale and 1993 the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement

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Federico Fellini's FAQ

  • What is Federico Fellini birthday?

    Federico Fellini was born at 1920-01-20

  • When was Federico Fellini died?

    Federico Fellini was died at 1993-10-31

  • Where was Federico Fellini died?

    Federico Fellini was died in Rome, Italy

  • Which age was Federico Fellini died?

    Federico Fellini was died at age 73

  • Where is Federico Fellini's birth place?

    Federico Fellini was born in Rimini, Kingdom of Italy

  • What is Federico Fellini nationalities?

    Federico Fellini's nationalities is Italian

  • Who is Federico Fellini spouses?

    Federico Fellini's spouses is Giulietta Masina (m. 1943–1993)

  • Who is Federico Fellini siblings?

    Federico Fellini's siblings is Maria Maddalena (m. Fabbri; 1929–2002), Riccardo (1921–1991)

  • Who is Federico Fellini childrens?

    Federico Fellini's childrens is Pierfederico

  • What was Federico Fellini universities?

    Federico Fellini studied at Carlo Tonni public school, University of Rome

  • Who is Federico Fellini's father?

    Federico Fellini's father is Urbano Fellini (1894–1956)

  • Who is Federico Fellini's mother?

    Federico Fellini's mother is Ida Barbiani (1896–1984)

  • What is Federico Fellini's sun sign?

    Federico Fellini is Capricorn

  • How famous is Federico Fellini?

    Federico Fellini is famouse as Film Director and Scriptwriter