Federico Fellini is truly one of the most influential film directors to ever walk this planet. The vision of him and his experience for the cinema reflected in all his observations of his life experiences. He has influenced some of the greatest directors of today’s generation of great filmmakers. Fellini is a world renowned film director who was born on January 20, 1920 just after the First World War in Rimini, Italy. He was the eldest son of three. When he was 18 years old, he went to Rome to study. This enabled him to avoid being drafted when World War II broke out.
Federico Fellini was a tremendously talented artist. He began his work experience as a cartoonist. Shortly after, he changed his artistic direction and became a writer and actor in various comedy productions in Italy. He also did some radio show work with his lifelong friend Aldo Fabrizi. Some say that because of his friendship with Fabrizi, his career was catapulted into the spotlight. A famous and very talented Italian director at the time, Roberto Rossellini, was looking for Fabrizi for one of his films. Fellini politely forced himself to set up the meeting, and from there, Fellini became assistant screenwriter.
This new position as assistant writer was an eye opener for Federico Fellini. He was able to see and understand firsthand how movies were created, produced and edited. From here on is how Fellini became the influencer he is known as today. Most people mark a successful career by the number of years they have experience in their field. More than 5 decades, 50 years, Fellini had been in business. Another mark of fame, he had won several awards with critical acclaim. Just a modest selection of the awards he has won include four Oscars for best foreign language film.
So why was Federico Fellini influential and a legacy? He brought a new genre to the public. His films are characterized by a series of intertwined dreams, memories, fantasies and desires reflected in reality. You lose your limits throughout these movies. When it comes to any kind of hallucinatory imagery on film, it’s called “Felliniesque” after the great Italian director Federico Fellini. Some of his best films include “8 ½”, “Amacord”, “I Vitellone”, “La Dolce Vida”, “La Strada”, “Juliet of the Spirits” and “Le Notti di Cabiria”.
Fellini inspired some of today’s greatest filmmakers who feature many “Felliniesque” scenes in their films, including the infamous Woody Allen, Pedro Almodóvar, Terry Gilliam, and David Lynch. Federico Fellini lived a magnificent life. He attributed most of his inspiration to his wife, Giuletta Masina, an Italian actress whom he met shortly before becoming a screenwriter’s assistant. He was married to the love of his life for 50 years. He passed away the day after his 50th anniversary with his wife of a heart attack on October 31, 1993 in Rome. He will never be forgotten with a lifetime achievement of excellent and influential movies.