Mai Zetterling
Biography
Mai Elisabeth Zetterling ( May 24, 1925 – March 17, 1994) was a Swedish actress and film director. She began directing in the early 1960s, starting with political documentaries and a short film called The War Game (1962), which was nominated for a BAFTA award, and won a Silver Lion at Venice. Her first feature film Älskande par (1964, "Loving Couples"), based on the novels of Agnes von Krusenstjerna, was banned at the Cannes Film Festival for its sexual explicitness and nudity. Kenneth Tynan of The Observer later called it "one of the most ambitious debuts since Citizen Kane." It was not the only film she made that would stir up controversy for its frank sexuality (early pioneer on voyeurism). When critics reviewing her debut feature said that "Mai Zetterling directs like a man," she began to explore feminist themes more explicitly in her work. The Girls, which had an all-star Swedish cast including Bibi Andersson and Harriet Andersson, discussed women's liberation (or lack thereof) in a society controlled by men, as the protagonists compare their lives to characters in the play Lysistrata, and find that things have not progressed very much for women since ancient times.
Known For
Vera Ullman
Nu börjar livet
Helga Eveshim
The Witches
Gurli Pall
Ett dockhem
(archive footage)
Minns ni?
Moa
Hidden Agenda
Marit Germundsdotter
Driver dagg faller regn
Ingrid Olofsson
Musik i mörker
Bertha Olsson
Hets
Frau Caypor
The Traitor
Liz
Only Two Can Play
Frieda
Frieda
Ilse Nordstrom
Knock on Wood
Christiane Hammond
Faces in the Dark
Jeanne (segment "The Facts of Life")
Quartet
Nurse Julie White
Abandon Ship
Hilda Wangel
The Master Builder
Lisa von Deutsch
The Man Who Finally Died
Ruth Lombard
Offbeat
Maria
A Prize of Gold
Mrs. Carol Edwards
Blackmailed
Anna DeBurg
Desperate Moment
Self
Sellers' Best
Self (archive footage)
Fördom & stolthet – en queer filmhistoria
Christine Preedy
Piccadilly Third Stop
Miss Peters
Jag dräpte
Arlette Tessereau
The Romantic Age
Narrator
Visions of Eight
Gina
The Main Attraction
Lily
The Lost People
Valerie Martin
Hell Is Sold Out
Lisa
The Ringer
Lidia
Portrait from Life
Carol Tilley
Jet Storm
Nina Gordon
Dance Little Lady
Anna Maria Wastenius
Prins Gustaf
Doris Rickardson
Tall Headlines
Iris Mattson
Iris och löjtnantshjärta
Self
The Making of 'Hidden Agenda'
Self
Vielleicht bin ich wirklich eine Zauberin
Lek på regnbågen
Lianbron
Julie Eaton
The Truth About Women
Teresa Guiccioli
The Bad Lord Byron
Lena
Vi har många namn
Lords of Little Egypt: Mai Zetterling Among the Gypsies
The Bay of St. Michel
Elin Fromm
Morfars resa
Fanny
Lasse-Maja
Nietzsche
Mon cœur est rouge
Gerda
Stulet nyår
Self (archival footage)
Regissören: en film om Mai Zetterling
Möte med Mai
Self
Calling the Shots
Mai Zetterling's Stockholm
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
54
Gender
Female
Birthday
1925-05-24
Place of Birth
Västerås, Västmanlands län, Sweden
Also Known As
Maj Zetterling