Wes Anderson to Receive Fellini Award in Italian Maestro’s Hometown of Rimini

Wes Anderson is set to be honored with Italy’s Fellini Award, which celebrates directors who embody the artistic spirit of Federico Fellini. The recognition is bestowed by the municipality of the late maestro’s hometown of Rimini in tandem with the country’s prestigious Cineteca Di Bologna. 

Anderson — who has long cited Fellini as one of his influences — will receive the award on April 21 in Rimini’s Teatro Galli theatre, where the American auteur will hold an onstage conversation with Cineteca di Bologna chief Gianluca Farinelli. Italy’s Cineteca di Bologna is known globally as a prime film preservation entity and a temple of cinema. They run the venerable Il Cinema Ritrovato film fest.

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On April 20, Rimini’s Cinema Fulgor, which was Fellini’s formative film temple and has been restored and refurbished since then, will host a special screening of Anderson’s “Moonrise Kindgom.”

The Fellini Award organizers praised Anderson in a statement for creating “a unique visual universe, which has spawned iconic works such as ‘The Royal Tenenbaums,’ ‘Moonrise Kingdom,’ ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ and ‘Asteroid City,'” it said.

“We had invited Wes Anderson to Rimini some time ago to introduce him to the museum project inspired by Federico Fellini,” Rimini Mayor Jamil Sadegholvaad noted in the statement. “But then we also felt this was the perfect opportunity to present him with a recognition that ties in naturally with the artistic and poetic bond that Anderson himself has repeatedly spoken about with regards to Federico Fellini’s work.”

Commented Farinelli: “Wes Anderson is an artist that is very close to Federico Fellini for his ability to invent and bring original worlds to life … It’s hard to imagine a better candidate for this second edition of the renewed Fellini Award.”

Last year’s Fellini Award recipient was Alfonso Cuaron. Previous recipients of the Fellini Award,
which was back last year after a break, include Paolo Sorrentino, Terry Gilliam and Martin Scorsese.