Happy 42nd Birthday, Céline Sciamma! Born today in 1978, this French screenwriter and film director's common theme in her works is the fluidity of gender and sexual identity among girls and women.
A common theme in Sciamma's films is the fluidity of gender and sexual identity among girls and women.
Born in Pontoise, France, Sciamma, years later, studied literature. This was before attending La Fémis, the première French film school.
As a child, Sciamma was an avid reader and became interested in film as a teenager. She later wrote her first original script for her debut film as part of her final evaluation at La Fémis.
This was the 2007 French drama/romance film 'Naissance des Pieuvres' ("birth of the octopuses" or 'Water Lilies'.)
French actor, film director and screenwriter Xavier Beauvois ('Of Gods and Men') of whom was chairman of the evaluation panel, and could be considered as Sciamma's mentor, persuaded her to make the film. A year after finishing school, she began shooting the film in her hometown.
'Water Lilies' was selected for screening in the section Un certain regard section at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in May of that same year.
The film secured three nominations for the 33rd César Awards in late February 2008: Sciamma was nominated for the César Award for Best Debut, and French actresses Adèle Haenel and Louise Blachère were both nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress.
Two years later, Sciamma directed her first short. This was the eight-minute 2010 French short film 'Pauline'.
Sciamma had directed it as part of a government anti-homophobia campaign called ‘Five films against homophobia’.
The following year, Sciamma directed the 2011 French drama film 'Tomboy'. It had been written and shot in a matter of months.
Sciamma wrote the script in three weeks, completed casting in three weeks, and shot the film in twenty days.
In February of the same year, 'Tomboy' premiered at the 61st Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section of the festival. It was later shown in French schools as part of an educational program.
Three years later, Sciamma directed the 2014 French coming-of-age drama film 'Bande de filles' (lit. 'Gang of Girls' or 'Girlhood')
The film was selected to be screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 67th Cannes Film Festival in May of that same year.
It also played at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival in September and the 36th Sundance Film Festival in January the following year.
In interviews, Sciamma said that 'Girlhood' would be her last coming-of-age film and that she considered it, 'Water Lilies' and 'Tomboy' a trilogy.
Since 2015, Sciamma has served as the co-president of the SRF (Society of Film Directors).
In between directing her own films, Sciamma continues to work as a screenwriter for other directors.
She was sought after by French screenwriter and film director André Téchiné ('Wild Reeds'), whose work Sciamma admired as a youth, to co-write the screenplay for his 2016 French romance/drama film 'Quand on a 17 ans' ('Being 17').
Three years after 'Girlhood', Sciamma wrote and directed her fourth film.
This would also be the film of which she is best known, being the 2019 French historical romance/drama film 'Portrait de la jeune fille en feu' (lit. 'Portrait of the Young Lady on Fire').
The film began shooting in autumn 2018, telling of a forbidden affair between an aristocrat and a painter commissioned to paint her portrait.
Set in France 1770, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), a young woman of whom has just left the convent.
Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be, and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She then observes her by day, to paint her secretly.
The following year, 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' premiered In Competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival in May 2019. The film won the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay, becoming the first film directed by a woman to win the award.
'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' was later chosen by the 91st National Board of Review as Top Five Foreign Language Films of 2019.
According to her style, Sciamma frequently collaborates with French electronic music producer and film director Jean-Baptiste de Laubier (also known by his artist name Para One), who has scored all of her films and directed scripts by Sciamma in the past.
She frequently collaborates with French cinematographer Crystal Founier, who also did the cinematography for Sciamma's Girlhood trilogy.
Sciamma has said that fashion and style form an important part of characterization, which is why, though uncredited, she is often the costume designer for her films.
She has cited David Lynch as a heavy influence, along with seeing Virginia Woolf as "the greatest novelist" and Chantal Akerman ('Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles', 'The Captive') as "one of the most important filmmakers".
According to her activism, Sciamma is a feminist. She was a founding member of the French branch of the 5050 by 2020 movement, a group of French film industry professionals advocating for gender parity in film by the year 2020.
Sciamma also uses her platform to speak about the restrictions of the male gaze and present movies that elevate the female gaze
She says: "Ninety percent of what we look at is the male gaze," which makes a blockbuster like "Wonder Woman" a rare gift."
According to her personal life, Sciamma is an out lesbian. In 2014, Haenel publicly acknowledged that she was in a relationship with Sciamma in her acceptance speech for her César award.
The two had met on the set of 'Water Lilies' and started dating sometime after. The couple parted ways, amicably, sometime before the filming of 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire', of which Haenel starred in.
Sciamma's films are centered around the experiences of young people grappling with issues of sexual, gender, and social identity. Each aches and soars with the pain, confusion, and exhilaration of adolescence.
Graced with an evocative, impressionistic visual style and remarkable performances from her young, non-professional leads, Sciamma's intimate coming-of-age tales are lit from within by a raw, heart-pounding emotional honesty.
Sciamma has been active from 2004–present.
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