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.

Movies & TV Shows

1. The Witches (1990) — Helga Eveshim
2. Hidden Agenda (1990) — Moa
3. Torment (1944) — Bertha Olsson
4. Music in Darkness (1948) — Ingrid Olofsson
5. Knock on Wood (1954) — Ilse Nordstrom
6. Only Two Can Play (1962) — Liz
7. Seven Waves Away (1957) — Nurse Julie White
8. Danger Man (1960) — Nadia
9. Frieda (1947) — Frieda
10. Visions of Eight (1973) — Narrator
11. Quartet (1948) — Jeanne (segment "The Facts of Life")
12. The Man Who Finally Died (1963) — Lisa von Deutsch
13. Jet Storm (1959) — Carol Tilley
14. Studio One (1948) — Gabrielle
15. Offbeat (1961) — Ruth Lombard
16. The Third Man (1959)
17. Sunshine Follows Rain (1946) — Marit Germundsdotter
18. A Prize of Gold (1955) — Maria
19. Piccadilly Third Stop (1960) — Christine Preedy
20. Iris and the Lieutenant (1946) — Iris Mattson
21. Portrait from Life (1948) — Lidia
22. Prejudice and Pride: Swedish Film Queer (2022) — Self (archive footage)
23. The Truth About Women (1957) — Julie Eaton
24. Faces in the Dark (1960) — Christiane Hammond
25. The Ringer (1952) — Lisa
26. The Bad Lord Byron (1949) — Teresa Guiccioli
27. The Romantic Age (1949) — Arlette Tessereau
28. The Main Attraction (1962) — Gina
29. Film '72 (1971) — Self
30. Armchair Theatre (1956) — Miss Julie
31. My Heart Is Red (1977) — Nietzsche
32. Blackmailed (1951) — Mrs. Carol Edwards
33. The Lost People (1949) — Lily
34. Hell Is Sold Out (1951) — Valerie Martin
35. Dance Little Lady (1954) — Nina Gordon
36. Interpol Calling (1959) — Carol
37. Life Starts Now (1948) — Vera Ullman
38. We Have Many Names (1976) — Lena
39. Desperate Moment (1953) — Anna DeBurg
40. Jag dräpte (1943) — Miss Peters

Directed

1. Night Games (1966) — Director
2. The Girls (1968) — Director
3. The Hitchhiker (1983) — Director
4. Scrubbers (1982) — Director
5. Loving Couples (1964) — Director
6. Visions of Eight (1973) — Director
7. Amorosa (1986) — Director
8. Love (1982) — Director
9. Doctor Glas (1968) — Director
10. The War Game (1963) — Director
11. Chillers (1990) — Director
12. We Have Many Names (1976) — Director
13. Sunday Pursuit (1990) — Director
14. The Moon Is a Green Cheese (1977) — Director
15. Love at First Sight (1992) — Director
16. Vincent the Dutchman (1972) — Director
17. Mai Zetterling's Stockholm (1978) — Director
18. Lords of Little Egypt: Mai Zetterling Among the Gypsies (1961) — Director
19. Of Seals and Men (1981) — Director
20. Concrete Grandma (1986) — Director
21. The Polite Invasion — Director