Benjamin Christensen

Benjamin Christensen was a Danish film director, screenwriter and actor, working in film and on the stage, who lived from 1879 to 1959. As a director he is best known for the 1922 film Haxan, also released as Witchcraft Through the Ages, a landmark of silent cinema. His most acclaimed acting performance was in the 1924 film Michael, in which he played Claude Zoret, the male lover of the title character in what is regarded as a landmark gay film. His career links Danish film of the silent era with the wider history of European cinema and its early treatment of horror, folklore and same sex themes.