A complex and at times controversial film-maker whose career spanned the second half of the twentieth century, Federico Fellini (1920–3) remains central to the Italian cultural imagery and the object of ongoing debates and critical scrutiny at home and abroad. Images from his films – Gelsomina’s tears, Marcello’s sunglasses – have become global signifiers not only for Fellini and Italian cinema, but for Italy itself, as steadily lodged in the world’s collective unconscious as the Colosseum’s arches and Venice’s gondolas.

Marking the centenary of Fellini’s birth, Federico Fellini: Centenary Essays reassesses the film-maker’s legacy with diverse contributions from established and emerging Fellini scholars as well as renowned Canadian film-makers. From literary influences to pictorial references, from artistic collaborations to politics, and from exhibition history to revivals, the collection covers the pivotal aspects of Fellini’s poetics through contemporary methodological tools and features a wide array of scholarly approaches. With complexity and nuance, the book takes stock of the enormous cultural legacy of one of the most celebrated directors in cinema history, and is essential reading for scholars and cinephiles alike.

Alberto Zambenedetti is an associate professor in the Department of Italian Studies and the Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto.

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Jessica Whitehead is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Languages at Cape Breton University.

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Marco Malvestio is an assistant professor in the Department of Linguistic and Literary Studies at the University of Padova.

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