Fellini, Federico (1920-1993), was a famous Italian motion-picture director. He originated his own ideas for his movies, usually developing the story as the film was being made. Many of his films blend realism and social satire with fantasy. They rely heavily on the use of symbolism and imagery, which create dreamlike sequences that are sometimes deliberately obscure.
Fellini was born on Jan. 20, 1920, in Rimini. As a child, he ran away to the circus for a few days, and the experience inspired much of his work. He collaborated with Alberto Lattuada on his first motion picture, Variety Lights (1950). Fellini’s first international success, La Strada (1954), won an Academy Award as best foreign film and established his wife, Julietta Masina, as a star. This grimly realistic, yet poetic film describes the relationship between a brutal circus strongman and a half-witted young girl. Nights of Cabiria (1957), 8 1/2 (1963), and Amarcord (1973) also won Academy Awards as best foreign films.
Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960) is an autobiographical and complex study of moral corruption in Italian society of the day. He also used autobiographical material in 8 1/2. Fellini’s other major motion pictures include I Vitelloni (1953), Juliet of the Spirits (1965), Fellini’s Roma (1972), and City of Women (1980). He was married to Masina from 1943 until his death on Oct. 31, 1993.
