Mai Zetterling
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1925-05-24
Day of Death
1994-03-17 (68 years old)
Place of Birth
Västerås, Västmanlands län, Sweden
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
Acting
(2022)
Prejudice and Pride: Swedish Film Queer
as Self (archive footage)
(2015)
Regissören: en film om Mai Zetterling
as Self (archival footage)
(1996)
(1993)
Minns ni?
as (archive footage)
(1993)
Morfars resa
as Elin Fromm
(1992)
Sellers' Best
as Self
(1990)
The Witches
as Helga Eveshim
(1990)
Hidden Agenda
as Moa
(1990)
(1989)
(1988)
Calling the Shots
as Self
(1978)
Stulet nyår
as Gerda
(1978)
(1977)
My Heart Is Red
as Nietzsche
(1976)
We Have Many Names
as Lena
(1973)
Visions of Eight
as Narrator
(1965)
(1963)
The Man Who Finally Died
as Lisa von Deutsch
(1963)
(1962)
Only Two Can Play
as Liz
(1962)
The Main Attraction
as Gina
(1961)
Offbeat
as Ruth Lombard
(1961)
(1960)
Piccadilly Third Stop
as Christine Preedy
(1960)
Faces in the Dark
as Christiane Hammond
(1959)
Jet Storm
as Carol Tilley
(1959)
The Traitor
as Frau Caypor
(1958)
The Master Builder
as Hilda Wangel
(1958)
(1957)
Abandon Ship
as Nurse Julie White
(1957)
The Truth About Women
as Julie Eaton
(1956)
Ett dockhem
as Gurli Pall
(1955)
A Prize of Gold
as Maria
(1954)
Knock on Wood
as Ilse Nordstrom
(1954)
Dance Little Lady
as Nina Gordon
(1953)
Desperate Moment
as Anna DeBurg
(1952)
The Ringer
as Lisa
(1952)
Tall Headlines
as Doris Rickardson
(1951)
Blackmailed
as Mrs. Carol Edwards
(1951)
Hell Is Sold Out
as Valerie Martin
(1949)
The Bad Lord Byron
as Teresa Guiccioli
(1949)
The Romantic Age
as Arlette Tessereau
(1949)
The Lost People
as Lily
(1948)
Portrait from Life
as Lidia
(1948)
Quartet
as Jeanne (segment "The Facts of Life")
(1948)
Music in Darkness
as Ingrid Olofsson
(1948)
Nu börjar livet
as Vera Ullman
(1947)
Frieda
as Frieda
(1946)
Iris and the Lieutenant
as Iris Mattson
(1946)
Sunshine Follows Rain
as Marit Germundsdotter
(1944)
Torment
as Bertha Olsson
(1944)
Prince Gustaf
as Anna Maria Wastenius
(1943)
Jag dräpte
as Miss Peters
(1941)
Lasse-Maja
as Fanny
Crew
(1990)
Sunday Pursuit
Director
(1986)
Amorosa
Director, Writer, Editor
(1986)
Concrete Grandma
Director
(1982)
Scrubbers
Director, Writer
(1982)
Love
Writer, Director
(1981)
Of Seals and Men
Director, Writer
(1978)
Mai Zetterling's Stockholm
Director
(1977)
The Moon Is a Green Cheese
Director, Writer
(1976)
We Have Many Names
Director
(1973)
Visions of Eight
Director
(1972)
Vincent the Dutchman
Director
(1968)
Doctor Glas
Director, Screenplay
(1968)
The Girls
Writer, Director
(1966)
Night Games
Director, Writer
(1964)
Loving Couples
Director, Writer
(1963)
The War Game
Producer, Screenplay, Director
(1961)