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.

Most Known For

Studio One

as Gabrielle

Interpol Calling

as Carol

The Third Man

Film '72

as Self

The Witches

as Helga Eveshim

Ett dockhem

as Gurli Pall

Prince Gustaf

as Anna Maria Wastenius

Stulet nyår

as Gerda

Jag dräpte

as Miss Peters

Svenska noveller

as Gerda

A Prize of Gold

as Maria

Hidden Agenda

as Moa

Seven Waves Away

as Nurse Julie White

Music in Darkness

as Ingrid Olofsson

Quartet

as Jeanne (segment "The Facts of Life")

Torment

as Bertha Olsson

Only Two Can Play

as Liz

Jet Storm

as Carol Tilley

Prejudice and Pride: Swedish Film Queer

as Self (archive footage)

Blackmailed

as Mrs. Carol Edwards