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. ==Psycho-social art==