Anna Odell
Anna Carolina Odell (born 3 October 1973) is a Swedish artist and film director. She won two Guldbaggen Award for in 2014 for her film The Reunion in the categories Best Film and Best Screenplay. In 2009, her film Okänd, kvinna 2009-349701 received a lot of attention as it includes a faked suicide attempt on Liljeholmsbron in Stockholm.
Also recorded as Anna Carolina Odell
Anna Odell

Frankie Fouganthin · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Anna Odell
- Born
- 3 October 1973
- Birthplace
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Education
- Gerlesborg School of Fine Art
- Awards
- Two Guldbaggen Awards
- Nationality
- Sweden
- Occupation
- film director · actress · screenwriter · artist
- Languages
- Swedish
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Anna Carolina Odell (born 3 October 1973) is a Swedish artist and film director. She won two Guldbaggen Award for in 2014 for her film The Reunion in the categories Best Film and Best Screenplay. In 2009, her film Okänd, kvinna 2009-349701 received a lot of attention as it includes a faked suicide attempt on Liljeholmsbron in Stockholm.
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Anna Odell (born 1973) is an actor, actress and artist, among other activities, of Swedish nationality. The actor was born in Stockholm. Anna Odell was educated at Gerlesborg School of Fine Art and Konstfack. Languages used include Swedish.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q4970768 · wikipedia · Anna Odell
In this article
Biography
Biography
Both films have been nominated and presented at the Venice Biennale Film Festival. She is one of the groundbreaking artists in the emerging psycho-social art scene.

Anna Odell på Stockholms internationella filmfestival 2018.
Frankie Fouganthin
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Anna Odell • Born — 3 October 1973 • Birthplace — Stockholm, Sweden • Education — Gerlesborg School of Fine Art • Alma Mater — Konstfack Royal Institute of Art • Notable Works — The Reunion • Awards — Two Guldbaggen Awards
Early life
Early life
Odell was born in Stockholm. She studied at the Gerlesborg School of Fine Art in Tanum Municipality, Konstfack and at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm.
Career and controversy
Career and controversy
The film Okänd, kvinna 2009-349701 (English: Unknown, woman 2009-349701) was Odell's examination work at Konstfack. The art film was part of Konstfack's exhibition for 2009 and was shown also the same year at Kalmars Konstmuseum. It was made to reconstruct Odell's own psychological breakdown in 1995, not as therapy but to test the power structures within the healthcare system and Swedish society's views on mental illness. The recording of the art film led to controversy. On 21 January 2009 Odell staged a suicide attempt, psychological breakdown and psychosis on Liljeholmsbron in Stockholm. Police took her to a psychiatric ER at St Görans Hospital in Stockholm. The day after she revealed to the staff at the hospital that she had faked her mental illness for her film. Odell's actions during the filming were criticized by David Eberhard, at the time head of the hospital. Odell was also criticized for using resources at the hospital that could have been used on people seeking help for genuine mental health conditions that same night. She was accused of violent resistance to police arrest, and for making a false alarm. The court found Odell guilty and imposed a 2500 SEK fine on her. The sentence was reduced because the courts thought she had no criminal intent in her actions. She did not appeal the sentence. In 2013, Odell made her directorial debut with the film The Reunion. The film brings up the subjects of bullying, power structures in the society and unhealthy hierarchy in schools. Odell brought a lot of her own experiences from her own school time, and also the experiences from her school reunion. The film had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival that year. The film had its Swedish premiere on 15 November 2013 and received positive reviews. Återträffen won two Guldbagge Awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay. In 2016, she made a voice role in the animated short film "Amalimbo" by Juan Pablo Libossart, the film was nominated in the short film category at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. In 2018, Odell directed and played one of the leading roles in a film starring herself as a character, called X & Y, along with co-stars Mikael Persbrandt and Shanti Roney. The film was filmed in Trollhättan. In 2024, Odell exhibited her solo exhibition – Rekonstruktion – Psyket – at Cecilia Hillströms Galleri revolving around her earlier days at a psychiatric hospital. The exhibition mainly consists of her video art piece by the same title as the exhibition but also includes photo work.
Psycho-social art
Filmography
Filmography
• 2009: Okänd, kvinna 2009-349701 • 2013: The Reunion • 2018: X & Y
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the heading Anna Carolina Odell. Her recorded language was Swedish.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Anna Odell | Nordic Women in Film.
- 2.Flera skandaler på konstskolor. Dagens Nyheter. 31 May 2011.
- 3.Did Anna Odell's faked psychosis have any artistic merit?. The Local. 7 September 2009.
- 4.Anna Odell till Kalmar konstmuseum. Barometern Oskarshamns-Tidningen.
- 5."Anna Odell ger alla psykiskt sjuka hopp" – Brännpunkt. Svenska Dagbladet.
- 6.Anna Odell: "Vad är det egentligen alla är så rädda för?". Dagens Nyheter. 6 September 2013.
- 7.Anna Odell: "Jag tror att jag på bron hittade tillbaka". Dagens Nyheter. 20 September 2009.
- 8.Anna Odell spelade sig själv. Dagens Nyheter. 8 May 2009.
- 9.Odell: "Jag har inte skadat psykvården". Svenska Dagbladet.
- 10.Överläkaren David Eberhard: "Konstfackseleven borde klippa sig och skaffa sig ett jobb". Dagens Nyheter. 29 January 2009.
- 11.Anna Odell spelade sig själv. Dagens Nyheter. 8 May 2009.
- 12.'Psychotic' art student charged for fake suicide. The Local. 13 May 2009.
- 13.Anna Odell: Personlig assistans hjalpte mig tillbaka. Foraldrakraft.
- 14.Odell dömd till dagsböter. Dagens Nyheter. 31 August 2009.
- 15.Anna Odell överklagar inte. Dagens Nyheter. 21 September 2009.
- 16.Sveriges Television. Odell: Förlorade tron på mig själv och blev en tönt. 14 November 2013.
- 17.Tidningen Kulturen – nyhetstidning med kulturell prägel – Film: Återträffen; Regi och manus: Anna Odell.
- 18.Anna Odells baggeladdade kväll. Dagens Nyheter. 20 January 2014.
- 19.Anna Odell tillbaka i Venedig – som tecknad figur – Filmbloggen. Aftonbladet. 5 September 2016.
- 20.Anna Odell: Jag har alltid varit rädd för män som är väldigt mycket män. Dagens Nyheter. 7 December 2017.
- 21.Arbetarbladet. Anna Odell: "Jag har ju varit känd som den galna konstnären".
- 22.Nyheter, SVT. Anna Odell gör film med Mikael Persbrandt. Sveriges Television. 23 November 2017.
- 23.Johansson, Hanna. Odell gör ett thrillerliknande återbesök hos psykiatrin. Svenska Dagbladet – Kultur. 14 January 2024.
- 24.Belgrave, Adam. Psycho-Social Art – Underpinnings of a New Art Order. Forum: ArtReview. 27 March 2017.
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Anna Odell studied at Gerlesborg School of Fine Art and Konstfack.
The recorded source classes are reference work. Every statement above restates one of those records; where they are silent, this article is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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