Person Details

Birthday: 1925-05-24 08:30:30

Death: 1994-03-17 08:30:30

Aliases: Maj Zetterling , Mai Elizabeth Zetterling

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Västerås, Västmanlands län, Sweden

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 67

TV Involvements: 5


Most Famous Work

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 Famous Work

Studio One
Average
4

Studio One

(1948) Gabrielle
Hidden Agenda
Average
7

Hidden Agenda

(1990) Moa
Torment
Average
7

Torment

(1944) Bertha Olsson
Interpol Calling
Average
7

Interpol Calling

(1959) Carol
Svenska noveller
Average
0

Svenska noveller

(1978) Gerda
Music in Darkness
Average
6

Music in Darkness

(1948) Ingrid Olofsson
Visions of Eight
Average
7

Visions of Eight

(1973) Narrator
Abandon Ship
Average
7

Abandon Ship

(1957) Nurse Julie White

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2022 Self
2015 Self (archival footage)
1996 N/A
1993 N/A
Elin Fromm
1992 Self
1990 Moa
Helga Eveshim
1989 Self
1988 Self
1978 Gerda
Gerda
N/A
1977 Nietzsche
1976 Lena
1973 Narrator
1963 Lisa von Deutsch
N/A
1962 Gina
Liz
1961 N/A
Ruth Lombard
1960 Christiane Hammond
Christine Preedy
1959 N/A
Carol Tilley
Carol
Frau Caypor
1958 Hilda Wangel
1957 Julie Eaton
Nurse Julie White
1956 Gurli Pall
1955 Maria
1954 Nina Gordon
Ilse Nordstrom
1953 Anna DeBurg
1952 Lisa
Doris Rickardson
1951 Valerie Martin
Mrs. Carol Edwards
1949 Arlette Tessereau
Lily
Teresa Guiccioli
1948 Lidia
Gabrielle
Jeanne
Vera Ullman
Ingrid Olofsson
1947 Frieda
1946 Marit Germundsdotter
Iris Mattson
1944 Anna Maria Wastenius
Bertha Olsson
1943 Miss Peters
1941 Fanny
Year Character Movie/Tv

Directing

Editing

Year Role Movie/Tv
1986 Editor
Year Role Movie/Tv

Writing

Production

Year Role Movie/Tv
1963 Producer
Year Role Movie/Tv

Join the discussion

Please Log in to comment