This site uses technical, analytics and third-party cookies.
By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies.

Preferences cookies

exhibit > Fellini in Action: 8 1/2 Set Photography by Paul Ronald

After years in the photographer Paul Ronald’s attic, these rediscovered images taken on the set of Fellini’s Oscar winning film 8 ½ (1963) are presented for the first time in North America on the occasion of the Maestro’s centenary.

The negatives donated to the curator Antonio Maraldi by Ronald were a result of their many years of friendship. The French photographer was in perfect harmony with the creativity of the director from Rimini and brilliantly captured the atmosphere, set breaks, characters and scenes of what would become one of Fellini’s masterpieces and an absolute masterpiece in the entire history of cinema. This exhibit’s exclusive images were chosen from the over 2,200 negatives and 250 color slides and the exhibit is divided into five sections: Federico Fellini, Marcello Mastroianni, Federico & Marcello, The Set and Color Photography.

VIEW THE EXHIBIT HERE

Federico Fellini was born in Rimini on January 20, 1920 in urban Romagna. After attending classical high school, in 1939 he moved to Rome, with the intention of studying law.  Instead, he frequented the world of performance and began writing scripts. In 1943 he met the young actress Giulietta Masina, his lifelong companion.

He collaborated as a screenwriter with Roberto Rossellini, Pietro Germi and Alberto Lattuada. In 1952 Fellini made The White Sheik, followed by I vitelloni (1953) which won the Leone d’argento at the Venice Film Festival. One year later he won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film with La strada. In 1957 he won his second Oscar with Nights of Cabiria while La dolce vita (1959) won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and achieved worldwide international success.

In 1963 8 1/2 was released, perhaps the highest moment of Fellinian art, and it won the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and for Costumes. After multiple successful films, Amarcord, an affectionate and ironic remembrance of Rimini during Fellini’s adolescence was released in 1973 and it won a fourth Oscar. His last film, The Voice of the Moon, was released in 1990. In the spring of 1993 Fellini received the Academy Award for Career Achievement. He died in Rome on October 31st of the same year.

Paul Ronald was born in France in 1924 to a family of small traders. During the war he moved to Nice, where he met photographer G.R. Aldo (an important director of photography) who began his career as a set photographer. Aldo called him as the set photographer for the film The Earth Trembles (1948) by Luchino Visconti, his big break.

Ronald then decided to settle permanently in Italy. As one of the most appreciated set photographers in Italian cinema, he has worked with almost all the major directors over a long career. He documented many works by Visconti, Fellini and Ettore Scola. Ronald returned to France and passed several years later in 2015.

Organized by the IIC Los Angeles in collaboration with Centro Cinema Città di Cesena, Regione Emilia Romagna and under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles. 

© photo Paul Ronald / collezione Maraldi, all rights reserved

  • Organized by: IIC Los Angeles
  • In collaboration with: Centro Cinema Città di Cesena, Regione Emilia Romagna