Mai Zetterling

Mai Zetterling (1925-1994), Swedish actor, motion-picture director, and writer, internationally renowned for her work focusing on feminist concerns. Born in Västeras, Zetterling left school when she was 13 and worked in various jobs before making her debut as an actor on both stage and screen at the age of 16. Among her early films, she gave celebrated performances in Hets (Frenzy, also known as Torment, 1944), by Swedish director Alf Sjöberg, and in Musik i mörker (Night is My Future, also known as Music in Darkness, 1948), by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. In 1951 she moved to Britain, where she acted in many films.

Zetterling's career as a director began in the early 1960s with a series of documentaries for British television and a short film, The War Game (1963), which won a first prize at the 1963 Venice Film Festival. Her first feature film, made in Sweden, was Alskande par (Loving Couples, 1964). The film's direct representation of women's position in society and of women's sexuality established Zetterling as a bold and controversial director, while articulating themes that would recur in most of her subsequent films. Zetterling also published several novels in the 1960s and 1970s, including Natt lek (1966; Night Games, 1966), Shadow of the Sun (1974), and Bird of Passage (1976).

Other major feature films directed by Zetterling include: Natt lek (Night Games, 1966), adapted from her novel; Scrubbers (1982), a story of young women in prison; and Amorosa (1986), based on the life of Swedish writer Agnes von Krusenstjerna and reputedly the film that Zetterling was most proud of. Zetterling returned to acting in 1990, delivering celebrated performances in two British films, Hidden Agenda (1990) and The Witches (1990).