French filmmakerCéline Sciammahas established herself as one of the leading directors and writers coming out ofcontemporary French cinema, and also one of the few feminist directors working in cinema. In an industry dominated by men, the male gaze, and stereotypical depictions of women and what their lives and emotions are like, Sciamma’s work has continuously continued to be a breath of fresh air when it comes to women and LGBTQ+ representation. She was born in a suburb outside the capital city, Paris, and was educated in filmmaking at one of the top French film schools: La Fémis. Sciammaidentities as a lesbian, which makes her work more unique in an industry that traditionally has shut out LGBTQ+ voices.
Sciamma made her debut in 2007 withWater Lillies, which was her senior project in her final year of film school.Water Liliesestablished her as a filmmaker to keep watching, and many of the themes she explored in later worksemerged in the narrative. Sciamma has released several films since then, but she has become best known for her work inPortrait of a Lady on Fire, which won the Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. Sciamma has a prolific career ahead of her as a filmmaker, but these are her best works so far.
Although Céline Sciamma did not directBeing 17,she was the screenwriter behind the story and its characters. The film was directed by André Téchiné.Being 17is about Damien, a seventeen-year-old who lives at home with his parents, a doctor and a military pilot. His father is away on a mission, but here in Damien’s hometown, he’s being bullied by one of his classmates.
When the bullying escalates, Damien decides it’s time to learn self-defense, and he begins taking classes with a teacher. At the same time, the film looks at the life of the bully, who comes from a troubled background when compared to Damien. When his mother is hospitalized, Damien’s mother offers to take him in, leading to some life lessons for them both.
8Ivory Tower
Sciamma is the writer behind the 2010 Canadian filmIvory Tower. Directed by musician Adam Traynor, the film features a wide variety of musicians active in the Canadian music scene. Its protagonist is Hershell, a former chess champion who’s coming home to Toronto. Much to his despair, his brother is now engaged to Hershell’s ex-girlfriend. To add insult to injury, he’s also the one who took his title away from being one of the best chess players.
The film is a recollection of their relationship together and what caused it to end, as well as how the relationship between her and his brother began to bloom. But in the present day, Hershell hatches an entirely new plan to win back his pride and life.
7Paris, 13th District
Another movie that Sciamma was involved with as the writer,Paris, 13th Districtwas co-written with Léa Mysius anddirected by Jacques Audiard. It is based on a book and comic stories. The main character is Émilie, who works at a call center and struggles at home because she is struggling to make enough money to pay her rent.
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6Water Lilies
Water Lilieswas Sciamma’s debut film, and it is one that shouldn’t be missed in her filmography. A coming-of-age movie, it tracks the lives of several teenagers living in the suburbs of Paris. Set in the middle of the summer, the three teenagers discover their budding sexuality and what it means to be attracted to someone. They each have their own crush and when some of them begin to pursue their crushes, it leads to a sense of isolation between the three friends.
As time drags on and the summer dwindles away from the girls, their resentful nature of each other’s new relationships will make theirs evolve in different ways, even if it means a growing romantic attraction between them.
5Petite Maman
Released in 2021,Petite Mamanis the most recent film Sciamma has put out into the world. It first appeared at the Berlin International Film Festival before being released in France and other parts of the world. The film begins with a tragedy: an eight-year-old, Nelly, just lost her grandmother. Her parents need to empty out the home despite their grief, and when Nelly is out in the woods playing, without supervision, she meets a girl seemingly her age.
The two start playing together, and when it starts raining, the girl, Marion, invites Nelly home. As the film progresses further, there’s a plot twist involving this, especially when Marion and Nelly continue sharing details about their lives.
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Tomboydwells on many of the themes that Sciamma has dealt with and touched upon in her work. Its protagonist is a ten-year-old who is biologically female, but presents as androgynous when compared to the typical stereotypical social norms of what a girl should look like. They are Laure, and when they meet the other youths living in the building, they decide they have the chance to live as someone who is gender-nonconforming, and introduces themself as the male name Mickaël.
Laure/Mickaël continues to present as male to the other children of the neighborhood, and even gets a crush on a local girl who reciprocates their feelings. But when other people find out the truth, it might not be a pretty scene.
3My Life as a Courgette
Directed by Claude Barras and co-written by Sciamma,My Life as a Courgetteisa stop-motion animated filmthat is an adaptation of a novel by Gilles Paris. The movie is set in Switzerland, where the main character, Icare, resides with his mother. His father abandoned them, and his mother is now a drunk.
After an incident where his mother came at him, Icare pushes her down the stairs and kills her, then turns himself in to a local police officer. He tells the officer he wants to go by his nickname Courgette, then he is taken to an orphanage. There, he bonds with the other children after initial hardship, but when a new girl arrives at the orphanage, Courgette decides it’s love at first sight.
Girlhoodcame out in 2014, and was another addition to Sciamma’s work on coming-of-age stories with young women. The film’s focus is on Marieme, an African-French teenager living in the poorer suburbs of Paris. She isn’t doing well in school, and her abusive brother is running the household as her mother works long hours. When she is told to go to a vocational school because of her poor grades, she one day is approached by a group of girls outside. They ask if she wants to join them in the city, and Marieme decides to go with them after seeing a boy she has a crush on approaching the girls later on.
These girls decide to pursue a life of theft and stealing from other people instead of pursuing their studies, as it is one of the few ways out of the lives they have lived so far. Although the film isn’t too happy when it comes to its subject matter, it is highly valuable because of how it captures life for Black French individuals living in contemporary France, especially those of African descent.
1Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Portrait of a Lady on Fireis Sciamma’s best-known movie so far, and there’s a good reason for that. It took homethe Queer Palmat the Cannes Film Festival, as it depicts a lesbian relationship between the two main characters. Set at the end of the 1700s, a painter, Marianne, is reflecting upon her past after one of her students asks about a painting she once did. When she was younger, she was hired to do the painting of a young aristocratic woman, but the aristocrat refused to sit for the painting. She did not want it done.
The two end up growing closer throughout their time together, and, eventually, their platonic relationship turns sexual. The film was a massive success not only at the Cannes Film Festival, but with the critics and other awards ceremonies across the Western world.
