Homage to Fellini

Remembering a classic artist who "never stops telling us what he has to say" (Paolo Fabbri/Italo Calvino)

The celebrations for the centenary of Federico Fellini's birth have started all over the world.

Emilia-Romagna Region is the main promoter of the National Committee for the Celebrations, which includes the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, the Municipality of Rimini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Cineteca di Bologna Foundation, the Istituto Luce Cinecittà, the Cineteca nazionale/ Centro sperimentale di Cinematografia, the Maria Adriana Prolo Foundation/ National Cinema Museum of Turin, and obvioulsly the Region itself.

The Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the President of Emilia-Romagna Region, and the Mayor of Rimini are chairing the Honour Committee.

The Committee and each member involved have created a program of activities to diffuse the knowledge of Federico Fellini's work and an international calendar of initiatives and events organized by the signatories and by other public and private bodies the Committee will validate with the official logo of the Celebrations (created by Paolo Virzì).
Everything on the website www.fellini100.beniculturali.it .

The Cineteca di Bologna is engaged, together with the Cineteca Nazionale/Centro sperimentale di Cinematografia and Istituto Luce / Cinecittà, to the restoration of all Fellini's movies, and promotes, with the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission and the Municipality of Rimini, a Fellini tourist itinerary. Moreover, the Film Commission supports new productions dedicated to the Maestro through the regional Audio-visual Fund.

On last December 14^th, the Municipality of Rimini inaugurated the exhibition Fellini 100 Immortal Genius, set up in Castel Sismondo, the future seat of the Federico Fellini International Museum, where, after a tour in 2020, it will become a permanent collection, and, together with the University of Bologna, Rimini will organize an international conference dedicated to The Book of Dreams in April.

The Book of Dreams is also protagonist of the event Buon compleanno Maestro!, promoted together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s network of diplomatic and cultural Representations: on January 20^th, a selection of drawings made available by the Municipality of Rimini are displayed in Embassies, Consulates, Cultural Institutes.

The collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s network is at the basis of the activities promoted by Emilia-Romagna Region, organized by the Office for cultural activities abroad, and in particular:

the exhibit Food in Federico Fellini’s drawings, displaying drawings made by the Maestro in different moments of his career, almost all splattered at the table and coming partly from his Book of Dreams;
the exhibition Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ in the unpublished photographs by Paul Ronald, realized by Antonio Maraldi, responsible for the Centro Cinema Città di Cesena, presenting the images remained unpublished for decades taken on the set by the official still photographer of the film;
the exhibition At table with Fellini, remembering Artusi, realized in co-operation with the Centro Cinema Città di Cesena, with images of films by the Maestro representing culinary and convivial scenes, which joins in the savoury pair cinema and food the anniversaries of two distinguished persons from Romagna: Federico Fellini (centenary of the birth) and Pellegrino Artusi (bicentenary of the birth).

Besides the exhibits, Emilia-Romagna Region’s offer also covers performing arts:

dance, with the performances by Monica Casadei and her company Artemis THE LOONEYS – Tribute to Fellini and Felliniana, a new production debuting in Spring;
music, with M° Andrea Griminelli and his concert Griminelli Tribute to Fellini on the 100^th Anniversary, dedicated to the music by Nino Rota in the director’s movies.

All these projects are only a little homage to the universality of the ‘genius’ Fellini, that his native land gratefully dedicates to him.