The Istituto Italiano di Cultura Toronto invites you to take a deep dive into the complexity and nuance of the enormous cultural legacy of one of the most celebrated directors in cinema history.
Join editors Jessica Whitehead and Alberto Zambenedetti along with contributor Frank Burke, for a presentation of a collection of essays marking the centenary of Fellini’s birth.
Federico Fellini: Centenary Essays reassesses the film-maker’s legacy with diverse contributions from established and emerging Fellini scholars as well as renowned Canadian film-makers. From literary influences to pictorial references, from artistic collaborations to politics, and from exhibition history to revivals, the collection covers the pivotal aspects of Fellini’s poetics through contemporary methodological tools and features a wide array of scholarly approaches.
Federico Fellini: Centenary Essays | Book Talk
Thursday March 20, 2025 | 6:30 pm ET
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
496 Huron Street | Toronto
Free event – Registration required
To register on Eventbrite click here
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Frank Burke is Professor Emeritus at Queen’s University. He has published five books on Federico Fellini, most notably, in 2020, Wiley Blackwell’s A Companion to Federico Fellini, edited with the late Marguerite Waller and with Marita Gubareva, and his own Fellini’s Films and Commercials: From Postwar to Postmodern (Intellect/U. of Chicago P.). He has provided the audio commentary, along with the late Peter Brunette, for the Criterion Collection’s Amarcord, as well as solo commentaries for Criterion’s Roma and Il Bidone. In terms of non-Fellini publications, Prof. Burke edited Wiley Blackwell’s A Companion to Italian Cinema (2017) and (with Amy Hough-Dugdale and Marita Gubareva) a special issue (11:1) of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media on Tonino Guerra. He has published on the Italian peplum, Dario Argento, Michelangelo Antonioni, Lina Wertmüller, Mario Camerini, Roberto Rossellini, William Friedkin, Sam Peckinpah, Michael Cimino, horror cinema, experimental cinema, and Canadian cinema.
Jessica Leonora Whitehead is an Assistant Professor in the Communication and Languages Department at CBU, specializing in media and screen cultures. Her research explores local and diasporic filmgoing . She co-leads the CHiMERA project, which digitizes Canadian film and media periodicals, creating an online archive focused on cinema exhibition in Canada. Recognized for her innovative teaching, she has received teaching awards and was appointed a Teaching Chair in Flexible Digital Delivery at CBU. Her work bridges film, culture, and digital pedagogy, inspiring students through dynamic, research-driven learning experiences.
Alberto Zambenedetti is an Associate Professor in the Department of Italian Studies, and he is serving as Director of the Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Acting Across Borders: Mobility and Identity in Italian Cinema (2021), and the editor of World Film Locations: Florence (2014) and World Film Locations: Cleveland (2016). He also co-edited Federico Fellini. Riprese, riletture, (re)visioni (2016) and Federico Fellini: Centenary Essays(2025). He contributed essays to the home video releases of Fire at Sea (Gianfranco Rosi), Dawson City: Frozen Time(Bill Morrison), and Fellini’s Casanova (Federico Fellini).