Mai Zetterling

Mai Zetterling

Born: May 24, 1925
Died: March 17, 1994
in Västerås, Västmanlands län, Sweden
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 for Mai Zetterling...

Prejudice and Pride: Swedish Film Queer
Title: Prejudice and Pride: Swedish Film Queer
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: February 25, 2022
Type: Movie
A journey through Swedish queer film history.
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Regissören: en film om Mai Zetterling
Title: Regissören: en film om Mai Zetterling
Character: Self (archival footage)
Released: May 22, 2015
Type: Movie
A celebrated movie star, Mai Zetterling stepped behind the camera in the early 1960's as one of the few female directors in the world. Her works were immediately celebrated worldwide but were later marginalized and forgotten. Always controversial, she stepped on some male toes while telling stories of marital oppression and human liberation. How come we know so little about one of Sweden's most innovative directors? And is what we know true?
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Meeting with Mai
Title: Meeting with Mai
Released: January 1, 1996
Type: Movie
Mai Zetterling is interviewed in the summer of 1984 in her house in southern France. Seventeen years have passed since the Girls were made in Sweden and were adversely affected by the criticism. Zetterling discusses why she left Sweden and resides at crucial times in her life; The drama period, to be celebrated actress and then to move to pave his way in the male-dominated director's profession. A guiding star in Zetterling's life has been to constantly expand its boundaries.
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Minns ni?
Title: Minns ni?
Released: October 24, 1993
Type: Movie
A quick overview of Swedish film history, featuring a breathtaking cavalry of scenes from about 170 films.
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Morfars resa
Title: Morfars resa
Character: Elin Fromm
Released: January 29, 1993
Type: Movie
Film by Staffan Lamm.
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Sellers' Best
Title: Sellers' Best
Character: Self
Released: February 1, 1992
Type: Movie
One of the all-time greatest comedians, Peter Sellers’ mimicry, timing, instinct and ability to decimate an audience with laughter made him absolutely unforgettable. Combining comedy and acting like no one before, or since, Sellers starred in legendary cult films such as Dr Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb and The Return of the Pink Panther. Sellers’ Best explores not only his comedic talent but goes beneath to examine the man himself and features interviews with those who knew him best, such as Spike Milligan, Beryl Reid and John Sessions
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Hidden Agenda
Title: Hidden Agenda
Character: Moa
Released: November 21, 1990
Type: Movie
In Ireland, American lawyer Ingrid Jessner and her activist partner, Paul Sullivan, struggle to uncover atrocities committed by the British government against the Northern Irish during the "Troubles." But when Sullivan is assassinated in the streets, Jessner teams up with Peter Kerrigan, a British investigator acting against the will of his own government, and struggles to uncover a conspiracy that may even implicate one of Kerrigan's colleagues.
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The Witches
Title: The Witches
Character: Helga Eveshim
Released: May 25, 1990
Type: Movie
A young boy named Luke and his grandmother go on vacation only to discover their hotel is hosting an international witch convention, where the Grand High Witch is unveiling her master plan to turn all children into mice. Will Luke fall victim to the witches' plot before he can stop them?
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The Making of 'Hidden Agenda'
Title: The Making of 'Hidden Agenda'
Character: Self
Released: May 1, 1990
Type: Movie
Documentary looking at the making-of and real-life stories behind the award-winning conspiracy thriller starring Oscar-winner Frances McDormand and Brian Cox
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Maybe I Really Am a Sorceress
Title: Maybe I Really Am a Sorceress
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1989
Type: Movie
An intimate portrait of director Mai Zetterling that includes interviews with Zetterling, David Hughes (Zetterling’s ex-husband and the cowriter of LOVING COUPLES, NIGHT GAMES, and THE GIRLS), and actors Harriet Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, and Bibi Andersson.
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Calling the Shots
Title: Calling the Shots
Character: Self
Released: September 8, 1988
Type: Movie
Documentary about women in the film industry. Numerous notable actresses and female directors share their thoughts.
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Stulet nyår
Title: Stulet nyår
Character: Gerda
Released: February 27, 1978
Type: Movie
A story about Gerda, maid and unmarried. And a New Year's Eve in her life.
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Title: Svenska noveller
Character: Gerda
Released: February 6, 1978
Type: TV
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Stockholm
Title: Stockholm
Released: January 1, 1978
Type: Movie
Swedish actress Mai Zetterling offers a look at Stockholm.
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My Heart Is Red
Title: My Heart Is Red
Character: Nietzsche
Released: March 23, 1977
Type: Movie
A poll for an advertising agency during a working day resulting in a series of meetings with women and men from different social strata, each one of them with a different problem.
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We Have Many Names
Title: We Have Many Names
Character: Lena
Released: March 19, 1976
Type: Movie
A sacrificial passive woman spends her life breeding happiness into her family. What happens when her world of security cracks, shatters completely and her identity dissolves?
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Visions of Eight
Title: Visions of Eight
Character: Narrator
Released: October 6, 1973
Type: Movie
Eight acclaimed filmmakers bring their unique and differing perspectives to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games held in Munich. The segments include Lelouch's take on Olympic losers and their struggle to remain dignified even in the face of bitter disappointment and defeat; Zetterling's dramatic exploration of the world of weightlifting; and Pfleghar's piece on young Russian gymnast Ludmilla Tourischev's majestic performance on the uneven bars.
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Lianbron
Title: Lianbron
Released: January 1, 1965
Type: Movie
A Swedish scientist couple comes to a small African village to fight malaria.
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The Man Who Finally Died
Title: The Man Who Finally Died
Character: Lisa von Deutsch
Released: December 1, 1963
Type: Movie
Joe Newman, a naturalised Briton, is telephoned by his German father, whom he believed long dead, at the same time as a funeral is taking place in Bavaria - with his father's name on the coffin. His investigation in Bavaria reveals startling facts and the obstruction he meets makes him suspect foul play.
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The Bay of St. Michel
Title: The Bay of St. Michel
Released: March 1, 1963
Type: Movie
A trio of World War 2 vets band together to search for a lost Nazi fortune.
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The Main Attraction
Title: The Main Attraction
Character: Gina
Released: November 1, 1962
Type: Movie
An affable drifter on the lam for a murder he didn't commit hides out in a circus.
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Only Two Can Play
Title: Only Two Can Play
Character: Liz
Released: January 19, 1962
Type: Movie
John Lewis is bored of his job and his wife. Then Liz, wife of a local councillor, sets her sights on him. But this is risky stuff in a Welsh valleys town - if he and Liz ever manage to consummate their affair, that is.
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Lords of Little Egypt: Mai Zetterling Among the Gypsies
Title: Lords of Little Egypt: Mai Zetterling Among the Gypsies
Released: January 3, 1961
Type: Movie
Every year in May several thousand 'Lords of Little Egypt' meet for festivities in the Camargue. Mai Zetterling stays with the gypsies and reports on how they live their lives.
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Offbeat
Title: Offbeat
Character: Ruth Lombard
Released: January 1, 1961
Type: Movie
When Scotland Yard finds themselves up against a brick wall in tracking down a vicious gang of thieves and bank robbers, they call in Layton, a loner from MI5 to work his way into the gang and help bring them down.
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Faces in the Dark
Title: Faces in the Dark
Character: Christiane Hammond
Released: November 22, 1960
Type: Movie
A businessman loses his sight in an explosion on the day his wife planned to leave him for another man.
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Piccadilly Third Stop
Title: Piccadilly Third Stop
Character: Christine Preedy
Released: September 5, 1960
Type: Movie
A playboy tries to recruit a gang, who include an American who needs cash to satisfy his wife's expensive tastes, and an old time expert cracksman, to rob a foreign embassy's safe, but trouble starts when the plan begins to go wrong.
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Title: The Third Man
Released: October 2, 1959
Type: TV
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Jet Storm
Title: Jet Storm
Character: Carol Tilley
Released: September 16, 1959
Type: Movie
Crisis in the air: A passenger aboard a commercial airplane flying from London to New York threatens to detonate a bomb over the Atlantic.
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Title: Interpol Calling
Character: Carol
Released: September 13, 1959
Type: TV
The adventures of Interpol policemen Duval and Mornay as they fought against international drug-running, homicide, robbery and forgery.
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The Traitor
Title: The Traitor
Character: Frau Caypor
Released: August 7, 1959
Type: Movie
In wartime, an English spy must go into neutral territory to murder a fellow-Englishman who has been working for the enemy.
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Playing on the Rainbow
Title: Playing on the Rainbow
Released: August 25, 1958
Type: Movie
The school counselor Vanja believe neither in love, marriage or a woman's subservient role to the man. One day she meets the student Björn. Their romance is full of problems. Along comes a man from Vanjas past.
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The Master Builder
Title: The Master Builder
Character: Hilda Wangel
Released: February 23, 1958
Type: Movie
Halvard Solness is a middle-aged architect whose ruthlessness in his business makes him a hardened individual. Affected by his ambitions are his wife and his colleagues, until a young woman shows up asking for a promised kingdom.
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The Truth About Women
Title: The Truth About Women
Character: Julie Eaton
Released: October 1, 1957
Type: Movie
Baffled and at a loss to understand the mentality of Diana, his wife, Anthony makes a frantic visit to the home of her parents to discover that she is staying with them.
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Abandon Ship
Title: Abandon Ship
Character: Nurse Julie White
Released: March 12, 1957
Type: Movie
After a massive luxury liner sinks into the ocean, the ship's officer must command a rickety lifeboat, built for only nine, that is stuffed with over twenty desperate and injured passengers. As a hurricane approaches and the many wounded passengers struggle for life, difficult decisions must be made about who will remain on the boat and who must be cast to the sea in order to give others the chance to survive.
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Ett dockhem
Title: Ett dockhem
Character: Gurli Pall
Released: January 1, 1956
Type: Movie
August Strindberg's feedback to Henrik Ibsen's "Doll's House"--a short story from the collection "Giftas" (Getting married), about female emancipation and obsolete marriages.
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A Prize of Gold
Title: A Prize of Gold
Character: Maria
Released: October 14, 1955
Type: Movie
A U.S. sergeant, a British sergeant and a British pilot hijack gold for a German refugee's war orphans.
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Dance Little Lady
Title: Dance Little Lady
Character: Nina Gordon
Released: July 13, 1954
Type: Movie
When a ballerina's career is ended after she's injured in a traffic accident, her husband decides to try and turn their young daughter into a ballet star. Drama.
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Knock on Wood
Title: Knock on Wood
Character: Ilse Nordstrom
Released: April 6, 1954
Type: Movie
Ventriloquist Jerry Morgan has failed with another love affair. The reason: when the relationship reaches the point when it is time to discuss marriage, his two dolls become mean and jealous. Morgan's dollmaker Papinek is a member of a spy ring who has stolen the secret plans for the top-secret Lafayette airplane. Since Morgan is leaving for Zurich the same night, he decides to hide the secret plan in the heads of the dolls.
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Desperate Moment
Title: Desperate Moment
Character: Anna DeBurg
Released: March 17, 1953
Type: Movie
Story of a Dutchman's flight across post-war Germany trying to locate the man who alone can clear him of a false murder charge. (BFI Website)
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The Ringer
Title: The Ringer
Character: Lisa
Released: November 24, 1952
Type: Movie
An underhand solicitor receives threatening notes, and the police are called in to protect him.
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Tall Headlines
Title: Tall Headlines
Character: Doris Rickardson
Released: April 15, 1952
Type: Movie
A family is torn apart when their eldest son is hanged for the murder of a young girl.
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Hell Is Sold Out
Title: Hell Is Sold Out
Character: Valerie Martin
Released: June 1, 1951
Type: Movie
A supposedly dead writer suddenly turns up to confront the young woman who is using his penname.
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Blackmailed
Title: Blackmailed
Character: Mrs. Carol Edwards
Released: January 30, 1951
Type: Movie
A blackmailer is murdered, and those who witnessed the scene agree to keep quiet; the complication is that the scene is also witnessed by a young artist, a victim of blackmail as well. (BFI Website)
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Naughty Arlette
Title: Naughty Arlette
Character: Arlette Tessereau
Released: November 29, 1949
Type: Movie
Arlette is a malicious schoolgirl who uses her feminine charms to attract, and then destroy, every man gullible enough to respond to her flirtations. She sets her cap for the art professor and very nearly does him in... but his loving wife and daughter help the deluded man escape the seductive mantrap.
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The Lost People
Title: The Lost People
Character: Lily
Released: August 22, 1949
Type: Movie
Set in a German theatre after the Second World War, two British soldiers are holding a disparate and hostile band of refugees in this theatre, prior to returning them to their homelands. The soldiers have difficulty dealing with the rivalries between Serb and Croat, resistance fighter and collaborator, Pole and Russian, etc. The threat of plague briefly unites them, but eventually even this wears off and the refugees unite in their hostility to the British.
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The Bad Lord Byron
Title: The Bad Lord Byron
Character: Teresa Guiccioli
Released: April 18, 1949
Type: Movie
Injured and on his deathbed in Greece, Lord Byron imagines a celestial trial with witnesses to determine the worth of his character.
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Portrait from Life
Title: Portrait from Life
Character: Lidia
Released: December 1, 1948
Type: Movie
A British army officer becomes fascinated by the portrait of a young woman. He travels to Germany to find her, only to discover that she is suffering from amnesia.
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Title: Studio One
Character: Gabrielle
Released: November 7, 1948
Type: TV
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.
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Quartet
Title: Quartet
Character: Jeanne
Released: October 26, 1948
Type: Movie
Somerset Maugham introduces four of his tales in this anthology film: "The Facts of Life," "The Alien Corn," "The Kite," and "The Colonel's Lady."
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Nu börjar livet
Title: Nu börjar livet
Character: Vera Ullman
Released: August 16, 1948
Type: Movie
A married priest woos a seamstress.
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Music in Darkness
Title: Music in Darkness
Character: Ingrid Olofsson
Released: January 17, 1948
Type: Movie
Because of an accident at a military drill the recruit Bengt loses his eyesight and becomes blind. He gets to live with relatives in the countryside and meets the young Ingrid. She falls in love with him but Bengt's bitterness also makes him blind to her attentions.
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Frieda
Title: Frieda
Character: Frieda
Released: June 19, 1947
Type: Movie
A young German girl marries an Englishman and moves into his family's household during the last days of World War II. The family and community have conflicting feelings about her presence in the community, and as a result, the family is forced to face their own moral code as they deal with their own prejudices and fears about the seemingly innocent German girl. The war ends, and she finally seems to be accepted into the family and community when her Nazi brother shows up to create havoc.
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Sunshine Follows Rain
Title: Sunshine Follows Rain
Character: Marit Germundsdotter
Released: December 26, 1946
Type: Movie
The Farmer Germund is planning a wedding between his daughter Marit and Mats, the son of a neighboring farm. Everything seems to be going according to plan until Marit meets the fiddler Jon, an illegitimate son who enchants the youth with his violin.
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Iris and the Lieutenant
Title: Iris and the Lieutenant
Character: Iris Mattson
Released: December 16, 1946
Type: Movie
Robert, an upper-class officer, meets and falls in love with Iris, a house maid. His family will do anything to stop her from marrying him.
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Prince Gustaf
Title: Prince Gustaf
Character: Anna Maria Wastenius
Released: November 29, 1944
Type: Movie
In the middle of the 1800s Swedish prince Gustaf meets the actress Anna Maria Wastenius and falls in love with her, but it is an impossible love story due to the rules of society.
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Torment
Title: Torment
Character: Bertha Olsson
Released: October 2, 1944
Type: Movie
Jan-Erik Widgren meets the lonely Bertha Olsson, a woman struggling with alcoholism. Though Bertha is already linked to Caligula, Jan-Erik's heartless teacher, she begins a relationship with the boy anyway. When Caligula learns that Jan-Erik is having an affair with Bertha, he begins to torture his student psychologically. He reserves his cruelest behavior for Bertha, however, which results in a tragic turn of events.
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Jag dräpte
Title: Jag dräpte
Character: Miss Peters
Released: October 26, 1943
Type: Movie
"I Slew" - Hospital drama of a doctor who thinks that he killed a patient on the operating table.
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Lasse-Maja
Title: Lasse-Maja
Character: Fanny
Released: November 28, 1941
Type: Movie
About the Swedish trickster and thief Lars "Lasse-Maja" Molin. He often disguised himself and lived as a woman in 1800s. He takes place as a kitchen boy for a bailiff and manages to prevent him from taking over the cottage where his beloved lives. His true identity will, however, be disclosed and he is forced to become an outlaw.