I clowns


I clowns is a 1970 film by Federico Fellini about the human fascination with clowns and circuses.

Production

The film was made for the Italian TV station RAI with an agreement that it would be released simultaneously as a cinema feature. RAI and co-producer Leone Film compromised on its release, with RAI broadcasting it on Christmas Day, 1970, and Leone Film releasing it theatrically in Italy the following day, December 26, 1970.
It is a docufiction: part reality, part fantasy. The film has sometimes been referred to as the first mockumentary in film history. Being documentary and fiction in one, The Clowns distinguishes itself by being a mockumentary with unique characteristics, not the least of which is reflecting Fellini's own increasing fascination with how documentary films reflect "reality". Fellini would further explore this semi-fictional documentary genre in 1969's and 1987's Intervista, both of which contain unreliable depictions of Fellini himself making the film within the film narrative.

Cast

Main