MWF 2010 authors on… Federico Fellini

I’ve given MWF guests a list of 15 random topics to respond to. The idea is to entertain and introduce you, the reader, to other sides of the MWF authors and their work, which may not be revealed on festival panels. The authors were allowed to respond in any way they liked, and were given no word limits. To learn more about the authors and what they’re doing at the festival, click their names through to their MWF bios.

Kristel Thornell

Few directors give you such a hypnotic, rich sense of the inner life in all its density—its theatricality, lyricism, madness and libido.

He brought out the best in mythical actors. Mastroianni, of course. Giulietta Masina… I always think of her clownish soulful face in that gem, Nights of Cabiria. A movie that does what great art seems paradoxically capable of—being both hugely heartbreaking, bleak, and yet celebratory.

Andrew Humphreys

You wouldn’t know it from my name, but my mother is Italian and I consider myself as Italian as I am Australian. The fact that my grasp of the Italian language is very poor is irrelevant. And besides, you don’t need to understand Italian to watch Fellini. The images are everything.

Rod Moss

Fellini was a bit af a stir amongst the foreign film directors blossoming in Melbourne during the 60s. The Italians were heavily represented, Visconti, Antonioni, Pasolini, and the younger Bertolucci to name just a few. Eight and a Half‘s dreamy subjectivity was a novel language to me, quite disorientating in a useful way. Juliet of the Spirits and Satyricon soon followed to raptuous reception. His star had faded a decade on, and it was the grittier realist film, La Strada and the late work, Armacord that have endured for me.

Feel free to share your own responses to the topic, or to the authors’ responses, in the comments.