Vivica Bandler

Vivica Bandler (5 February 1917 – 30 July 2004) was a Finnish theater director and agronomist. She founded a theater in Helsinki and is credited popularizing avant-garde Finnish theater.

Early life and education

Vivica von Frenckell was born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1917. She was the daughter of Helsinki Mayor Erik von Frenckell and theater historian Ester-Margaret Lindberg. She studied agronomy, graduating in 1943. She then maintained her family home, Saari Manor, a historic home located in Tammela, Finland. She served in the Lotta Svärd during World War II and eventually married Austrian Kurt Bandler.

Theater work

After the war she started working in an amateur theater in Tammela. She studied, in Paris, France in the 1930s, under a French movie director. Upon her return to Helsinki she sought to become a film director, but because of her gender, the opportunity was lacking. She went on to get her degree in agriculture, instead.

In 1939, she founded Helsinki's first Swedish student theater, Studentteaternin. Bandler also served as director of the theater. When visiting film directors came to film in Finland she often served as translator, such as Jacques Feyder. In 1969, she was awarded the Order of the Lion of Finland.