8 ½ (35mm)

This event is part of our Surrealism on Film season and will be introduced by Brittany Jones from University of St Andrews.

Federico Fellini is widely hailed by film critics - and notably, by filmmakers - as one of the greatest directors of all time. 8 ½ occupies an elevated position within his ouvre and is a surreal trip through the intense, emotional, and uncertain vortex of creativity. 

Marcello Mastroianni is Fellini's alter ego, Guido, a successful filmmaker who, embarking on his next film, discovers he has complete director's block. Harassed by his producers, his mistress (Sandra Milo) and his wife (Anouk Aimee) while struggling to find the inspiration for his film, he increasingly indulges in dreamy recollections of his life and lovers, until fantasy (personified by the beautiful Claudia Cardinale), his memories and reality congeal in the director's mind. The payoff is an astonishing spectacle which represents the electrifying triumph of optimism. As Guido says in the film: "Life is a party, let's live it together". 

See it back on the big screen, projected from an old 35mm print.