ABSTRACT
This essay seeks to examine the relationship between women’s cinema and feminist forms of address through a discussion of the early work of Swedish actress/director Mai Zetterling (1925-94)—an important figure in film history who has received scant recent attention. That she has particular relevance to issues ofWomen and Film is apparent from the fact that the Edinburgh Film Guild titles its biographical entry on her: “Mai Zetterling: Actor, Director, Feminist.” The Guide states, “Mai Zetterling…was not only one of the first significant female directors of non-documentary feature films, but arguably deserves credit for being the first director of explicitly feminist films targeted at mainstream audiences.”1 Before discussing her career, however, it is important to interrogate certain foundational terms as conceived within feminist film studies.
