by Anselma dell'Olio

PostED ON OCTOBER 13 AT 10:56 AM

In her documentary Fellini of the Spirits, journalist Anselma dell’Olio examines the esoteric inclinations of the director of La Dolce Vita.

How important was esotericism in Fellini's life?

His interest in spirituality, dreams, metaphysics, esotericism or the occult has always been tremendous. One of his mottos was, “You have to know how to recognize the signs”. In his eyes, it was enough to stay aware, awake and perceptive in order to be able to interpret the signs of everyday life. He had a highly developed sixth sense, intuition, sensitivity, and a strange ability to "read" inside people. He was reading your soul. No kidding. I am not the only one who has experienced this. On the set of Ginger and Fred, I was by his side almost every day for two years. We remained friends for a long time. And we rarely went anywhere without consulting the I Ching first!

Did the signs influence his daily life?

He loved cars. He and Mastroianni had a rivalry about who had the most luxurious car around. But one day, in the 1970s, he almost hit a child, who had appeared out of nowhere. Miraculously, Fellini was able to brake just in time. As he got out of the car in shock, a man expressed his interest in his Mercedes Benz. He sold it to him on the spot and never drove again. Some would say it was superstition. I say he paid attention to the right signs, and that he was wonderfully intuitive.

Did the signs influence his films?

He consulted the I Ching oracle daily, often before filming a scene. He loved to visit tarot card readers, psychics, telepaths or sorcerers. He saw all the mages he had heard of, at least once. However, he knew perfectly well whether they were genuine. Dreams were a constant source of inspiration. He adored Carl Jung, whom he nicknamed the "seer-scientist", for Jung’s attention to the spiritual and the subconscious.
 
My goal with this film is to offer a “new pair of glasses” to the public, to allow them to really see the films of Fellini in a more complete and deeper way, in order to discover their spiritual, esoteric and metaphysical content.
 
Each of his films, from the very first, Variety Lights (1950), one of my favourites, to the last, The Voice of the Moon (1990), is imbued with metaphysical signs. He was afraid of illness, but not of death. When someone opened up to him about his fear of dying, he would reply, "Aren't you curious about how things are going to turn out? »

Interview by Charlotte Pavard

Fellini of the Spirits by Anselma dell’Olio (Fellini degli spiriti, 2020, 1h40)
UGC Confluence Tue.13 at 5:15 pm