Fellini's Early Escapism

ANSA: "Fellini sketches fantasy galore"

A valuable and little-known collection of sketches by legendary Italian film director Federico Fellini is now on show in the northern town of Adro.

The pictures are on loan from a collection that once belonged to one of Fellini's closest aides and collaborators, Liliana Betti. Betti, who was born in Adro, worked with the director for over two decades.

Unlike drawings produced by other filmmakers, who used sketching as a way to clarify their ideas about the set and the development of the film, Fellini turned to art for escapism and fantasy.

He started drawing as a boy in Rimini, producing caricatures of Hollywood stars in exchange for free entry into his local cinema.

As a young man, he turned this knack to comic drawings and cartoons, which he sold to different newspapers. This eventually led to him working as a journalist, scriptwriter and film director.

But his love of drawing and caricature lingered in a life-long passion for cartoons and doodling.While other exhibitions have explored this side of Fellini's talent, the pieces on display in Adro are from a rarely shown private collection. (...) article and images >>>