Roma

Screening on Film

Directed by Federico Fellini.
With Alfredo Admai, Sbarra Adami, Britta Barnes.
France/Italy, 1972, 35mm, color, 119 min.
Italian with English subtitles.

“A story of a city” according to its director, Fellini’s Roma weaves together a series of images of the Eternal City, from the 1930s to the turbulent era of the 1970s. Avowedly autobiographical, the film follows Fellini as he attempts to make a documentary on Rome but recalls instead his arrival in the city in his early twenties amidst the seedy prewar music halls and brothels. Among the more memorable sequences in present day Rome is a gigantic traffic jam (mostly filmed inside Cinecittá Studios), the discovery of ancient Roman murals underground, an ecumenical fashion show, and the last screen appearance of Anna Magnani, caught unawares late at night.