January 20

“There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life.” … Italian film director Federico Fellini was born January 20, 1920, in Rimini, Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. His fascination with circuses and vaudeville performers was evident in many of his films, including his international breakthrough, “La Strada” (1954), starring his wife as a young woman sold by her family to a circus strongman. He is renowned for “La Dolce Vita” (1960), in which Anita Ekberg waded fully clothed into Rome’s Trevi Fountain. The movie spawned the term "paparazzi," from a character named Paparazzo who photographed celebrities. His surreal, often dreamlike and poetic films are landmarks in avant garde cinema, including “8½” (1963), “Juliet of the Spirits” (1965), “Fellini Satyricon” (1969) and “Amarcord” (1973). In his greatest works, Fellini follows unlikely souls in their journey toward salvation.