Fellini and the Circus

While I was doing some research for a filmmaking project about director Federico Fellini, I found an interview of him talking about his first encounter with the circus and the impact that it made on him.

I decided to dig a little deeper and I watched some of his films whilst looking for any circus influences I could find. I then wrote and filmed this documentary to talk about Fellini's cinema from a circus perspective.

Fellini and the Clowns

Short Film

Federico Fellini was fascinated by the strange world of the circus. He liked the marvellous environment and the peculiar people he found in it. The way he wrote his films and characters was largely influenced by circus shows and artists.

Inspired by Fellini's artistic vision, I decided to make a short film to portray that melancholic and nostalgic feeling that we often perceive from his characters.

The clown is the symbol of the suffering that characterises Fellini's characters. They’re bored and unhappy people who don't know what to do with their lives.

I used lines from La Dolce Vita and Eight and a half to create a inner dialogue inside the clown’s mind.

Documentary