HistoryFederico Fellini was born January 20, 1920, in Rimini Italy.

His Father, Urbano Fellini,

was born from a peasant family from Gambettola, and grew up to be a baker. Urbano moved to
Rome in 1915, to become an apprentice at the Pantanella Pasta Factory. His Mothers name was
Ida Barbiani, and she was raised Catholic family and Merchants in Rome.Her family
disapproved of Urbano Fellini, they were eloped in 1917. After the marriage, they moved in with
Urbanos family home, back in Gambettola. The couple then had an official Wedding
marriage, and a Religious Ceremony in Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome. The two then moved
out of Urbanos familys house and then to Rimini. To provide for his wife and soon to be son,
Urbano got a job as a Traveling Salesman and a Wholesale Vendor. Federico Fellini was the
oldest of three siblings. His younger brother Riccardo, was born in February 21, 1921 in Rimini
Italy. He grew up and became a Documentary Director for Television. Riccardo died on March
26, 1991, in Rome, Italy. Maria Maddalena Fellini, the youngest of the three, was born on
October 27, 1929 in Rimini Italy. She became a theatre actress for her early career mostly. She
came out in her first film, Especially on Sunday, in 1999, at the age of 70. She died on May 21,
2004, in Rimini Italy, she was 74.

In 1924, his primary school was an institute that was ran by nuns, from San Vincenzo, in
Rimini Italy.When Federico Fellini was in High School, he was a caricature artist for his local
theatre, drawing portraits of the Actors and Actress. Some days, he would even stage his own
puppet shows. In 1929, he enrolled to a higher education institute, Ginnasio Giulio Cesare, thats
where he met Luigi Titta Benzi. They became friends, and was the inspiration for the character
Titta in his film Amarcord (1973). In 1939, Fellini enrolled at the University of Rome.
Although he enrolled to practice law, he never went to class. His days were spent writing and

drawing with a painter named Rinaldo Geleng, who later became a lifelong friend to Fellini.
Fellini needed money, so he started working for a satirical magazine called MarcAurelio. After
writing his first article for this magazine, he was promoted to be on an editorial board. During
this Time, the Italian Government were making exceptions on who would and wouldnt be
drafted in their military. Fellini took a job as a scriptwriter for a radio show called Cico e
Pallina, so he wouldnt have fight in WWII. It was at this job is where he met his soon to be
wife, Giulietta Masina, who was a voice actress at the time.
On November 1942, Fellini was sent to Libya, which at the time was occupied by Italy, to
work on a screenplay for the film called, Knights of the Desert. This was Fellinis first time to
work on a movies screenplay, however, when Tripoli fell to the British, Fellini and the crew had
to stop everything and get out of Libya, before the Tommies captured them. In 1943, there was
an Air Raid over Bologna Italy, and Fellinis medical records were destroyed. With his medical
records gone, the Italian Military couldnt draft him. Fellini and Giulietta were married on
October 30 1943, after being together for 9 months. Months later, the now married couple,
attempted to have their first child. While pregnant, Giulietta accidentally fell down a flight of
stairs and had a miscarriage. They tried again, and had a son named Pierfederico, on 22 March
1945. Unfortunately, their child died on April 24. The cause of death was an illness called
encephalitis, a sudden onset inflammation in the brain. These tragic events may have been the
first triggering of Fellini to turn to having affairs. On June 4, 1944, Fellini and a friend named
Enrico De Seta, opened a shop where they drew caricatures of people. Fellini was offered a part
as a screenwriter for a film called , Stories of Yesteryear, now called, Rome, Open City. In
1947, Fellini was recieved an Oscar Nomination for his screenplay for Rome, Open City. In
1950, Fellini co-directed a film called Variety Lights, with Alberto Lattuada, and starred

Fellinis wife Giulietta Masina. Unfortunately, the film flopped, having very poor reviews and
leading the production company to go bankrupt. Three years later, Fellini directed I Vitelloni,
which awarded him with the Silver Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. After that film,
Federico Fellini truly found success in the film industry and was an artist to stay, then became
one of the greatest directors of all time.
InfluencesIt has been said about Fellini: The only problem with the cinema of Fellini is that it
reduces your pleasure in other films. Almost all the masterpieces of cinema since 1960 suddenly
seem a little less original, a little less resourceful when you realise how much they owe to him.
Fellini had a great impact on all the cinema around him both during and after his career.
He influenced many big names in the business such as Andy Warhol and Woody Allen. But his
legacy can be seen all around modern-day cinema. There are several techniques that Fellini not
only set the standard for, but actually tapped into first, allowing directors around him and
following him to embrace as well.
David Lynch once said of him, Fellini manages to accomplish with film what mostly
abstract painters do namely, to communicate an emotion without ever saying or showing
anything in a direct manner, without ever explaining anything, just by a sort of sheer magic.
Lynch then went on to direct movies using the same approach, such as Blue Velvet, Eraserhead,
and Lost Highway.
The scope of the ways Fellinis films influenced his generation and generations that
followed is broad, but it is also important to know where Fellinis own inspirations came from.
Fellini started making amature movies in 1943 after years of watching films directed by inspiring
men, and books written by well renowned authors such as John Steinbeck and German author

Franz Kafka. But perhaps his biggest influence came from Roberto Rossellini, whom he
considered a mentor.
Roberto Rossellini was a French director who made post-war movies, often about
political ideals. Fellinis films had themes of artistic fantasies and personal expression, where
Rossellini's films had more themes of neo-realism. Their film themes were very different from
each other, yet Fellini looked to his out-of-the-box courage as inspiration for his own films. In
1944, Fellini took an internship with Rosselini and soaked in all of the information he could.
Fellini eventually became his assistant director for the film Maiori, in 1946.
Fellini also had a relationship with famous Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni. The
two of them often gained inspiration from each other, as they were directing movies in the same
years. The media had attempted to force a rivalry between them; but in reality, they considered
themselves co-workers in a way. They very much respected each other's work and encouraged
their individual styles.
Fellini worked his entire life to make art the best way he knew how. He learned from
those that came before him, and opened the gates to new possibilities for those who came after
him.

StyleFellinis style is amusing, entertaining, and takes a trip down memory lane as he
experiments with his past and mixes it with new characters. Fellini is often credited for inventing
the flashback in his films, but the most notable appearances of his style is the color red, which
appears in all of his films even if it is a black and white film. He also enjoyed putting a reference
to dancing in each of his films, using deep shadows, and having his wife star in a lead role.

The color red symbolizes excitement, elegance, warmth, anger, boldness, passion,
aggressiveness, violence, war, and danger which makes a presentation in all of his films. The
film, Juliet of The Spirits is reviewed as being Fellinis most colorful film, he uses the color red
in costumes, set designs, and even food the characters eat or drink. The film is about a woman
who is always dressed in red, who goes on a spiritual journey to find the strength to leave her
cheating husband. There are many eccentric characters like her neighbor Suzy, who has a passion
for poetry, and romance in one scene Juliet watches him closely as he makes her a glass of red
Sangria. His character tempts Juliet in many scenes to do things that are out of her comfort zone,
and each time he is adorned in the color red.
Fellini once said, Even if I set out to make a film about a fillet of sole, it would be about
me. He put himself into each film he created, and based characters off of himself from earlier
periods of his life. In his film Roma, the main character is based off of Fellini when he moved to
Rome and lived in an apartment building with eccentric people. In La Dolce Vita Fellini bases
the films main character off of himself as a young man trying to become a more serious artist
while also balancing out his social life. Another aspect of putting himself into his films was
including Catholicism in his films which was the religion he was raised with. Part of putting
himself into his films was having his wife Giulietta Masina star as the leading lady in his films
La Strada, Juliet of The Spirits, Nights of Cabiria, Ginger and Fred, The White Sheik, The
Swindle, The Lights of Variety, Without Pity, and Fortunella.
All films that were made after 1960 seem very influenced by Fellinis masterpieces.
Every film that features a flashback, or portrays nostalgia seems a little less original after
watching his films. A lot of films are still greatly influenced by him, including Pulp Fiction
which almost frame for frame copied the dance scene from 8 . Even movies like All That Jazz

with Bob Fosse was influenced by Fellinis 8 like the subject of how an artist can abuse their
bodies for the sake of their own art. Great films like these would not exist without the existence
of Fellinis films.
There is a fantastic scene in his film, Juliet of The Spirits which shows Juliets neighbor
Suzy making Sangria for her. Suzy appears silhouetted in the darkness, while Juliet is full of
light, and colorful. Suzy remains in the darkness most of the scene all the while that she watches
him crickets blare loudly in the background. The only time that the characters are both in the
light, but have deep shadows on them is after Juliet takes a drink of Sangria. The lighting in this
scene shows how tempting Suzys ideals are to Juliet, and only when she takes a drink does she
give herself away to those temptations. The shadows and temptations in this seen represent the
possibilities that loom just outside of her reach.
Films influenced by FelliniAmong Fellinis many works, 8 inspired the most film directors. 8 was a film about
a struggling film director, and thus, the film truly spoke to the hearts of directors everywhere.
120 Days of Sodom, Stardust Memories, and Brazil are three excellent examples of films that
would not have existed were it not for Fellinis influence.
120 Days of Sodom has been considered among one the most controversial films ever
made. Directed by Pasolini, a man who had worked with Fellini, the film centers around rich
Fascist libertines in post-World War 2 Italy, exploring themes of sexuality and sadism as they
treat the locals as if they were their mere playthings. Employing surrealism and satire heavy
handedly, Pasolini shows that he has clearly taken points from his senior. However, he took a
reverse in other elements. In sharp contrast to Fellinis use of easily shifting between spaces like
dreams upon a serene mind, the entire film of 120 Days of Sodom is almost filmed using a single

room, pushing a dense sense of claustrophobia upon the viewer. And where Fellini enjoys
persistent use of low-brow humor, the film twists it and pushes said humor to uncomfortable
extremes.
Taking a step back, not all inspired films are quite so violent in delivering their themes.
Stardust Memories is an open letter to 8 from director Woody Allen to Federico Fellini.
Woody Allen has stated that Fellini is a massive influence on his own work, and lists two films
from him among his personal top ten list. Stardust Memories is a film that almost perfectly
mirrors 8 in that its a story about a director who struggles with sudden fame and often dreams
about his past love life, as homage is paid in full. This is done primarily through the film being
shot in black and white, and just as Fellini took the part of director in his film, Woody Allen
assumes the role of director in his.
Just like most films, Brazil is a film that has taken numerous inspirations, but it is unique
in that there among them, an auteur and an author were the primary sources upon which
creativity was taken. Brazil is a film taking place in a totalitarian dystopia where the main
character escapes his harsh reality through chasing a woman who continually appears in his
dreams. Federico Fellini and George Orwells 1984 themes coalesce into this film beautifully,
and it shows. In fact, as if to settle any doubts as to what inspired the film, the director confirmed
that the working title was 1984 .
Federico Fellinis legacy propagates throughout the film industry even to this day, as he
stands as an artist among auteurs. His triumphs, despair, and witty knack for humor continue to
echo throughout the hearts of Italian directors everywhere, as no one has been able to match his
prowess of manipulating the surreal. But if there comes a day that a promising, equally

mischievous Italian director walks the same path and catches the worlds eye, you can bet that
Fellini would have been proud.

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