Federico Fellini with the project, "The Thousand Miles", based on various works of Fellini including his unpublished drawings and writings. General Federico Fellini Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Known for his distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness, he is recognized as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. His films have ranked, in polls such as "Cahiers du cinéma" and "Sight & Sound", as some of the greatest films of all time. "Sight & Sound" lists his
Federico Fellini system." Unclear about the script, its title, and his protagonist's profession, he scouted locations throughout Italy “looking for the film” in the hope of resolving his confusion. Flaiano suggested "La bella confusione" (literally "The Beautiful Confusion") as the movie's title. Under pressure from his producers, Fellini finally settled on "8½", a self-referential title referring principally (but not exclusively) to the number of films he had directed up to that time. Giving the order to start production in spring 1962, Fellini signed deals with his producer Rizzoli, fixed dates, had sets constructed, cast Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, and Sandra Milo in lead