That 8 1/2 was based on Fellini's real experiences and persona is pronounced enough as to be apparent even to someone unfamiliar with the director's backstory. He start to admit this only once the movie completed' (Kezich 240). 'After that, he might have mentioned the notion to the other screenwriters, but he never openly: 'I have realized that I am Guido Anselmi. Reaching his peak frustration, Fellini even began (but ripped up) a letter to his producer confessing he would give up on the film (Kezich 238-39).Īccording to Kezich, Fellini's epiphany about the film's structure and story arrived with the realization that his protagonist would be a director in the same situation as he was.

Even the crew on which Fellini regularly depended grew skeptical of the project. As reporters began questioning Fellini about his next project with increasing vigor, he began to retreat from the public eye, even avoiding conversation with friends and colleagues (Kezich 233-34). In the summer of 1961, Fellini embarked on a tour of Italy, claiming he was scouting locations for his next film, which he would shoot in October of the same year no one believed him. As a result, rumors spread that Fellini was facing creative block and was out of ideas. Having harvested the widespread acclaim of his last film, La Dolce Vita, the Fellini of the early 1960s was subject to gossip and envy, according to friend and biographer Tullio Kezich. The idea for 8 1/2 took years to fully develop in Fellini's imagination, but the frustration and absurdity of this process actually informed the film as we know it today, which is centered on a protagonist suffering from writer's block while making a film. Its exhibition at the third Moscow International Film Festival in 1963 likewise made a huge splash. In addition, it won prizes for best director, producer, original story, screenplay, music, cinematography, and supporting actress from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists that year. Produced by Angelo Rizzoli, the film garnered two 1963 Academy Awards (for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design) and was nominated for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Art Direction in black-and-white. Its title derives from its position as the eighth and a half film that Fellini directed (if one considers his two short films and a collaboration each as 'half films'). Written and directed by Federico Fellini, 8 1/2 is an Italian avant-garde film released in 1963.

8 1 2 federico fellini 1963