University Libraries Present Four Films by Fellini

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Fellini in February film series

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Libraries will host “Fellini in February” a series of feature films written and directed by Federico Fellini. The films will be screened in the Mullins Library Room 104 each Tuesday evening from Feb. 5 to Feb. 26, all beginning at 6 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

“The Libraries’ film series committee decided to focus on the works of Federico Fellini – one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century,” said Lora Lennertz-Jetton, head of the performing arts and media department and chair of the film series committee. “We wanted to offer the campus community diverse styles that represent the realistic and the absurd, films that are still well-known as well as those that are less familiar.”

The schedule for the film series is:

Feb. 5 – 8 ½ (Italy, 1963). Director Guido Anselmi struggles with writer’s block following his latest film. He visits a spa in search of rest but is overwhelmed by actors and producers who both idolize and idealize him. As deadlines approach, Guido must confront his relationships with women, his artistic crisis, and his fear of death to move on with the project and his life.  This film won over 60 international awards including an Academy Award for best foreign language film. It stars Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée and Claudia Cardinale.

Feb. 12 – Amarcord (Italy, 1973). Fellini satirizes his youth in this coming-of-age story set in the seaside village of Borgo San Giuliano. The comedy follows Titta, the adolescent son of a large family, and his eccentric friends and neighbors over the course of a year. Daily life is a circus of fantasy, memory and ritual. The film won the Academy Award for best foreign language film. It stars Pupella Maggio, Armando Brancia and Magali Noel.

Feb. 19 – Satyricon (Italy, 1969). Encolpius and Ascyltus argue over the affections of Giton. When the friends part ways, Encolpius embarks on a series of outrageous adventures before reuniting with Ascyltus for more trouble. Loosely based on the book Satyricon by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, the film explores the debauchery of Nero’s Rome. It stars Martin Potter, Hiram Keller and Max Born.

Feb. 26 – La Dolce Vita (Italy, 1960). Marcello Rubini is a tabloid reporter in Rome during the late 1950s. He longs for a meaningful writing career and relationship but remains seduced by the self-indulgent lifestyle that comes with his current position. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning best costume design. It stars Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg and Anouk Aimée.

Federico Fellini was born in Rimini, Italy, in 1920. He developed a passion for the circus, comics and puppet shows at an early age. Fellini began a career as a caricaturist and journalist in Rome where he met the director and screenwriter Roberto Rossellini. Rossellini hired him to write for Rome, Open City for which Fellini and Sergio Amidei received an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay.

Early in his career, Fellini abandoned neorealism in favor of surrealism, satire and parapsychology. Fellini’s films blur the lines that separate the real from the imagined as he navigates the beauty, complexity and emptiness of modern life. He won four Academy Awards for best foreign language film for La Strada (1954), Nights of Cabiria (1957), 8½ (1963), and Amarcord (1974). He received the Academy Award for lifetime achievement in April 1993. He died on Oct. 31, 1993.