1920 |
Federico is born on January 20th, a Capricorn with ascendant in the Virgin sign, son of Ida Barbiani, a housewife, and Urbano Fellini, a sales representative. Later on he will have a brother, Riccardo, born on February 27th 1921, an actor, and a sister, Maddalena, born on October 17th 1929, who will become both a housewife and an actress. |
1925 |
He attends the first class of primary school in Rimini, at "Scuola dell'Asilo S. Vincenzo"; from the following year on he will be attending the state school named "Carlo Tonini". He is a quiet child and likes to draw, to play with his puppet theatre, and later on reading comics on a weekly magazine called "Il Corriere Dei Piccoli"; his favourite cartoonist is Antonio Rubino. |
1930 |
He attends the first form of high school in Rimini. During the following eight years his deskmate will be Luigi Benzi (nicknamed Titta), who will be his best friend forever. |
1936 |
He falls in love with his fourteen-year-old neighbour, Bianca Soriani. The girl will move away from Rimini two years later, but they will keep in touch for some time. |
1937 |
He publishes his first drawings: they are caricatures of people who took part, along with Federico himself, in a 1936 summer camp in Verrucchio organized by the National Fascist Party Youth Movement; they are published on the only issue of La Diana, a magazine by Opera Nazionale Balilla di Roma (another Fascist youth association) under the title "Campers 1936", and signed by "the avant-gardist Federico Fellini". On commission of the owner of Rimini's cinema (The Fulgor), he draws some caricatures of famous actors later displayed as an advertisement. He opens a Portrait Shop for Tourists ("Bottega del Ritratto per Villeggianti") with a friend, Demos Bonini: on the sign-board there was the word "FEBO" (Fellini-Bonini). |
1938 |
He passes his final high school exam. He publishes several cartoons on "La Domenica del Corriere", a weekly magazine, in the "Readers' works" page. He offers himself as a free lance for the Florentine weekly magazine by Nerbini Publishing named 420, that publishes many short tales, cartoons, drawings and columns of his by the name "Fellas". |
1939 |
He moves to Rome with his mother and sister, but the two of them will get back to Rimini, where his father and brother still live, one year later. After some time also Riccardo will move to Rome. He enters Rome University, Law School. He will never get a degree. He happens to know Riccardo Geleng, a painter, who will be one of his lifetime friends. He begins to work very hard at the "Marco Aurelio", a biweekly humorous, political and satirical journal published by Rizzoli; he becomes quite renowned for his cartoons, serialized novels and columns (the ones entitled "Are you listening to me?", "City Lights", "Penultimate Year of High School", "First Love" are the luckiest and the most appreciated by young readers). He will work at the Marco Aurelio till late 1942. Through his friend Ruggero Maccari, he happens to know Aldo Fabrizi, a comic actor,: Federico will become Aldo's friend, gag author and favourite writer both for variety shows and motion pictures. |
1940 |
On June, 10th Italy enters World War II declaring war to France and the United Kingdom. Federico is a free-lance for the EIAR (Italian Radio Auditions Board) working on variety shows, sketches and comic programmes often written with Ruggero Maccari. His contribution will last until summer 1943. He writes for many magazines, also about movies. He officially takes part in his first screen-play as a gag writer for "Il pirata sono io" (=The pirate is me!) directed by Mario Mattioli, starring the comic actor Erminio Macario. |
1941 |
He is among the screenwriters for the motion picture entitled "Documento Z-3" (=Document Z-3), directed by Alfredo Guarini, starring Isa Miranda and Claudio Gora. |
1942 |
He first meets Giulia Masina, a young theatre actress who is also in the EIAR comic-musical company and stars in Fellini's "Cico and Pallina's Adventures", some short stories featuring a newly-wed couple in the radio programme called "Terziglio". They meet, they fall in love, they get engaged. He writes the subject and part of the screenplay for "Avanti, c'e' posto!" (=Come in, there is plenty of room!), a Mario Bonnard's film with Aldo Fabrizi as the main character. He writes the subject of Quarta Pagina (=Fourth Page), directed by Nicola Manzari, with Piero Tellini, He works for a short time at the ACI (Italian Cinematographic Association) Subjects Bureau, a society led by Vittorio Mussolini, Benito's son; here he meets Roberto Rossellini. He directs his first movie in Africa, in Tripoli; because of an emergency during the filming of "Gli Ultimi Tuareg o I cavalieri del Deserto" (=The Last Tuareg or The Desert Knights), also written by Federico, the whole troupe must get back in an eventful journey to Rome, which the English Army is about to occupy. |
1943 |
He is among the screenwriters of "Campo De' Fiori", directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Aldo Fabrizi and Anna Magnani; "Apparizione" (=Apparition) by Jean De Limur with Alida Valli and Amedeo Nazzari; "L'Ultima Carrozzella" (=The Last Gig) by Mario Mattioli, starring Aldo Fabrizi and Anna Magnani; "Chi L'Ha Visto?" (=Who has seen him?) directed by Goffredo Alessandrini, featuring Virgilio Riento and Valentina Cortese. He takes shelter in the Roman house where Giulietta Masina lives as her aunt's guest. On July 25th Mussolini and the Fascist party fall. On September 8th the King abandons the capital and runs away to southern Italy where the Allies rule; Nazists occupy Central and Northern Italy; Fascists proclaim their Social Republic of Italy. He marries Giulietta Masina on October 30th with a private wedding with few guests in their neighbour's (Monsignor Cornaggia Medici) apartment. |
1944 |
He opens a portrait and caricature shop, called The Funny Face Shop, along with his artistic friends De Seta, Verdini, Camerini, Scarpelli, Majorana, Guasta, Giobbe, Attalo and Migneco in Roma, just freed by the Fifth Army Troops on June 4th. They work for the Allies with great success and profits. Incited by Rossellini, he signs an agreement to work on the screenplay of Roma Città Aperta, especially for the character played by Aldo Fabrizi. |
1945 |
He becomes father of Federichino, on March 22nd 1945. The only son of Federico and Giulietta lives for two weeks but then dies from breathing insufficiency. |
1946 |
In september he takes part in the premiere of "Roma Citta' Aperta". This movie, who will become part of the film history, is really successful. He works in the preproduction, in the scriptwriting and the production of Roberto Rossellini's "Paisà"; the necessary trip throughout Italy, destoyed by war, and his friendship with Roberto Rossellini will be remembered by Federico as one of the happiest periods of his life. |
1947 |
He gets back to the movies industry as a screenwriter of "Il Passatore" (=The Ferryman), by Duilio Coletti; "Il Delitto di Giovanni Episcopo" (=The murder of Giovanni Episcopo), directed by Alberto Lattuada (Giulietta Masina is in the cast); "L'Ebreo Errante" (=The Wandering Jew) by Alfredo Alessandrini. |
1948 |
He make his debut as an actor, with blonde hair and a beard, as a tramp who is thought to be Saint Joseph in "Il Miracolo" (=The Miracle), one of the two parts of Roberto Rossellini's "L'Amore" (=Love) starring Anna Magnani. The other part is Jean Cocteau's monologue "La Voce Umana" (=The Human Voice). The subject and script of "Il Miracolo" are written by Fellini and Tullio Pinelli. He writes some script for "In Nome Della Legge" (=In The Name of The Law) directed by Pietro Germi; "Il Mulino del Po" (=The Mill on River Po) by Alberto Lattuada; "Citta' Dolente" (=Sorrowful City) by Mario Bonnard. |
1949 |
He participates in the scriptwriting, preproduction and production of "Francesco, Giullare di Dio" (=Francesco, God's Jester), directed by Roberto Rossellini. The only professional actor in the whole cast is Aldo Fabrizi. |
1950 |
He writes part of the script of "Il Cammino della Speranza" (=The Path to Hope), a film by Pietro Germi; "Persiane Chiuse" (Closed Shutters) by Luigi Comencini featuring Giulietta Masina. |
1951 |
He goes to Paris for the first time. He takes part in the ideation of "Europa '51" (=Europe '51), a film by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman. He is among the screenwriters of: "La Citta' si Difende" (=The City Defends Itself) by Pietro Germi; "Cameriera Bella Presenza Offresi" (=Good-looking Waitress Available), a film by Giorgio Pastina; "Il Brigante di Tacca di Lupo" (= The Bandit from Tacca di Lupo), a film by Pietro Germi. He is co-director, along with Alberto Lattuada, of "Luci del Varieta'" (=Variety Lights), a coproduction. He directs his first film, "Lo Sceicco Bianco" (=The White Sheik), starring the comic actor Alberto Sordi as the chief character, from a Michelangelo Antonioni's subject. Ennio Flaiano, a writer, works on the screenplay with him and will greatly contribute to Fellini's following movies. The soundtrack is by Nino Rota, the composer who will give an unique mark to Fellini's whole work. |
1952-53 |
He directs "I Vitelloni", an Italian-French coproduction. It is the first film of his to have a foreign distribution. He works on the script of "Cinque Poveri in Automobile" (=Five Poor Men on a Car) by Mario Mattioli, starring Aldo Fabrizi, Eduardo De Filippo, Walter Chiari. He wins his first award: a Leone D'Argento (=Silver Lion) for "I Vitelloni" (=The young and the passionate) at the Venice Film Festival. From now on the international awards will be so many that they will fill a whole room in his house. He directs a sketch: "Agenzia Matrimoniale" (=The marriage agency) and "La Strada". |
1954 |
He wins a Leone d'Argento in Venice for "La Strada", his first world-famous movie that will receive more than fifty awards. |
1955 |
He directs "Il Bidone" [=The Swindle]. |
1956 |
He directs "Le Notti di Cabiria" [=Cabiria]. Among the scriptwriters working on the dialogues there is PierPaolo Pasolini. In 1959 an American musical will be derived from this film. He wins his first Academy Award for "La Strada", best foreign movie. The international success of Giulietta Masina, the leading character, is huge. He loses his father, Urbano, dead in Rimini from a heart attack. |
1957 |
He goes to the U.S.A. for the first time to receive the Academy Award for "La Strada" and stays there for one month and a half by request of Burt Lancaster and the Hetch-Hill-Lancaster society, who would like him to shoot a film in the U.S. He wins his second Academy Award for "Le Notti di Cabiria", best foreign motion picture. He writes "Viaggio con Anita" (=A Journey with Anita) with Tullio Pinelli; it is a film inspired by his father's death that will not be produced at that time but will be directed, with many changes, by Mario Monicelli in 1979. |
1958 |
He writes the script of "La Dolce Vita" with Ennio Flaiano and Tullio Pinelli and gets ready to film. This will be his chance to meet Marcello Mastroianni, who will become his greatest actor and alter-ego. |
1959 |
He directs "La Dolce Vita". |
1960 |
He is booed, insulted and spat on by the scandalized non-paying audience at the premiere of "La Dolce Vita" at Capitol Cinema, Milan. He wins the Golden Palm in Cannes for "La Dolce Vita". |
1961 |
He directs "Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio" (=Dr. Antonio's Temptations), a short piece against censorship in the group film "Boccaccio '70". The writer Goffredo Parise is in the scriptwriting team. |
1962 |
He directs 8 1/2. |
1963 |
He goes to Russia for the first time, to accompany "8 1/2" at the Moscow Film Festival; the film, after many discussions and resignation handed in by several jurors because of the Sovietic resistance, wins the Great Prize unanimously. It is the last time that Fellini takes part in a film festival; from now on his works will never be classed again. |
1964 |
He wins his third Academy Award for 8 1/2, best foreign motion picture; another Oscar goes to Piero Gherardi, best costume designer, who had already won one for "La Dolce Vita". From "8 1/2"another American musical will be derived and produced in New York City, in 1982. |
1965 |
He directs "Giulietta degli Spiriti" (=Juliet of the spirits), his first film in colour. He experiments LSD under medical control. He is in New York at the American premiere of "Giulietta degli Spiriti", and takes part in a party at Jacqueline Kennedy's house. He writes the subject for "Il Viaggio di G. Mastorna" (=Mastorna Travel), inspired by the death of an essential friend of his, Ernest Bernhard. The film will never be shot, but the subject will be transformed into a strip story more than 25 years later. He happens to know Dino Buzzati, a famous writer, and is his guide to Italian magicians and occultists; Fellini then asks Buzzati to help him with the script of "Il Viaggio di G. Mastorna". |
1966-67 |
He prepares "Il Viaggio di G. Mastorna", a movie hindered by problems, arguments with productors, actors' indispositions, judicial proceedings and many other obstacles. He is struck by a breakdown on April 10th, 1967, and must stay in a nursing home for more than one month because of an exudative pleurisy, later diagnosed as a "Sanarelli-Schwarzmann syndrome". Many people think that it is a sort of "diplomatic illness" to avoid filming "Il viaggio di G. Mastorna", which he eventually gives up. His new producer Alberto Grimaldi buys him out paying almost half a billion liras to Dino De Laurentis (Fellini's former producer). He directs "Toby Dammitt", short part of the group film "Tre Passi nel Delirio" (=Three Steps into Rave"). |
1968-69 |
He directs "Fellini: A Director's Notebook" ("Block-Notes di un regista" in Italy), a one-hour television special for NBC. He directs "Fellini Satyricon", which will be very successful in many countries. He quits smoking tobacco. |
1970 |
He directs "I Clown" (=Clowns) for RAI (Italian state tv broadcasting company) and prepares "Roma" (=Rome). He quits driving cars. |
1971 |
He directs "Roma". |
1972-73 |
He directs "Amarcord". He acts as himself in Paul Mazursky's "Alex in Wonderland". |
1974 |
He wins his fourth Oscar for "Amarcord", best foreign film. He acts as himself in Ettore Scola's "C'eravamo tanto amati" (=We had loved each other so much). |
1975-76 |
He directs "Il Casanova di Federico Fellini" (=Fellini's Casanova), that will be very successful only in Japan. |
1977 |
He prepares "La citta' delle donne" (=City of Women). |
1978 |
He directs "Prova d'Orchestra" (=Orchestra rehearsal). This movie has a politic-institutional premiere in the Quirinale Palace in Rome; among the audience there are the President of Italy, the President of the Italian Senate, the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the Prime Minister. The film is cause of many debates and political interpretations. |
1979 |
He loses one of his most important friends, Nino Rota, who dies in Rome on April 10th, 1979. He has composed the most beautiful soundtracks for Fellini's works. Federico directs "La citta' delle donne" (=City of Women). |
1980 |
He publishes "Fare un film" (=Make a film), an anthology of notes about his work and his life (from Einaudi publishing). |
1981 |
He prepares "E La Nave Va" (=And the ship sails on). |
1982-83 |
He directs "E La Nave Va" (=And the ship sails on). In Paris his drawings are featured in an important exhibition, which is greatly successful. He acts as himself in Alberto Sordi's "Il Tassinaro". |
1984 |
He directs a Campari commercial. He goes to Mexico for the first time (via Los Angeles) to meet Carlos Castaneda, a Peruvian writer and anthropologist, whom Federico greatly admires. He loses Ida, his mother, dead in Rimini on September 27th. |
1985 |
He directs "Ginger e Fred" (=Ginger and Fred). Twenty years after "Giulietta degli Spiriti", Giulietta Masina stars once again as the main character in a movie directed by her husband. Federico is struck by a slight circulatory collapse and is hospitalized for some days in a nursing home. In Venice he receives a Leone D'Oro for his career. He is present at the "Ginger e Fred" preview in the Quirinale Palace, with the President of Italy and many politics and intellectuals among the audience. The official premiere of the movie is held in Paris: this will be the only Fellini's movie not to make its debut in Italy. |
1986-7 |
He publishes "Viaggio a Tulum" (=A Trip to Tulum) on the newspaper "Corriere Della Sera"; it is a short account of the Mexico expedition to find Carlos Castaneda as a film subject. He directs "L'Intervista" (=Interview) and a Barilla commercial. |
1988 |
He publishes "Un Regista a Cinecittà" (=A Director in Cinecittà), a book dedicated to his life in the fifty-year-old studios where he shot almost all of his films. The publisher is Arnoldo Mondadori. |
1989 |
He direct "La Voce Della Luna", his last film. |
1990-91 |
He turns seventy; his birthday is celebrated with great affection by the showbusiness world, his friends, his fans and the media. For the first time in his life, with other Italian film directors, he openly fights against the law that would allow tv networks to interrupt movies with commercials; eventually he does not succeed at all. He superintends Milo Manara's comic-strip edition of "Viaggio a Tulum". He loses his brother Riccardo, dead in Rome on March 26th 1991. |
1992 |
He directs a commercial for Banca di Roma. He superintends Milo Manara's comic-strip edition of "Il Viaggio Di G. Mastorna" ("detto Fernet" =nicknamed Fernet has been added to its title): The work is published on a monthly magazine, "Il Grifo" (=The Griffon). |
1993 |
He receives his fifth Oscar, for his career; in Los Angeles Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni are with him. Giulietta Masina is in the audience. On August 3rd he is struck by an ictus in Rimini, at the Grand Hotel. He dies on October 31st in Roma, in the Policlinico Hospital. The funeral chamber is set in Studio 5 of Cinecittà and the funeral in Santa Maria Degli Angeli, a Roman church, is attended by several thousands of mournful people. |
| english translation by
Irene Tosetti tosetti@giove.aerre.it |