Reinterpreting Rossellini and Fellini's Legacy: An Investigation of Italian Neorealist Cinema (2011)

Undergraduate: Natalia Davila

Faculty Advisor: Jeff Whetstone
Department: Art

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Roberto Rossellini and Federico Fellini pioneered a movement that changed the face of modern international cinema. These directors attempted to capture the lives of everyday Italians and Italy as a new country, both regaining a new identity after the fall of fascism and the end of World War II. The intent of the project is to explore modern Italian community and culture, as compared to the Italy described in their films, by employing their cinematic styles and techniques to create a photographic series. The following films, collaborative and independent projects by Rossellini and Fellini, were selected as the foundation of the research project as they reflect the birth of modern Italy and the progression of the Italian Neorealist movement and its styles: Roma citta aperta, Paisa, I vitelloni, La dolce vita, Otto e mezzo and Amarcord. Photography was used to document Rome as a foreigner in Italy attempted to rediscover the country and situate themselves among the people. The research was structured around Rossellini’s filmmaking techniques, particularly shooting on site, using non-professional actors and focusing on everyday life in Italy. The first part of the research, and the first photographic series, focuses on individual character development, a Fellini technique, to introduce today’s diverse Italian community. The following series reflects the second part of research that emphasizes Italians in their environment, a theme Fellini developed in his later films.