Emilia (Othello) Award nomination for her performance. "Othello" has its source in the 1565 tale, "Un Capitano Moro" from "Gli Hecatommithi" by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. While no English translation of Cinthio was available in Shakespeare's lifetime, it is probable that Shakespeare knew both the Italian original and Gabriel Chappuy's 1584 French translation. Cinthio's tale may have been based on an actual incident occurring in Venice about 1508. The only named character in Cinthio's story is "Desdemona". Other characters are identified only as the Moor, the squadron leader, the ensign, and the ensign's wife – the original of Shakespeare's Emilia. There's no
Filming Othello at Boston Symphony Hall.) Some of Welles' "The Other Side of the Wind" crew—Gary Graver, Michael Stringer and Larry Jackson—worked on "Filming Othello". "Filming Othello" uses clips from "Othello", but the footage is not accompanied by the film's dialogue track. "Filming Othello" was first shown at the 1978 Berlin Film Festival. It was first screened in the U.S. in 1979 at the Public Theater in New York, where it played on a double bill with "Othello". However, the film's presentation did not receive newspaper reviews. "Filming Othello" had no further U.S. screenings until it returned to New York in 1987