George Orson Welles

 

 

George Orson Welles was a filmmaker, writer, producer and actor that had great contributions to the development of the essay film in the cinematographical sphere. He was born in 1915, in Wisconsin, United States, became an orphan at fifteen and started his career in theatre in 1934, in New York. The documentary and essay forms are inscribed in his fictional work since the beginning, including in his radio and theatre works, previous to his movies. His inclination towards the essayism appears specially in the revision of his earlier works - finished or unfinished - in the attempt to understand the creative process that connects his works. Films like F For Fake and Filming `Othello` are considered film essays and give the sensation of a work in progress, in which the theme and the discussion object are in a constant state of becoming. A notable characteristic of Welles as an essayist is the dubious combining of fact and fiction in his works.