Céline Sciamma

Céline Sciamma
Sciamma in February 2015
Born	(1978-11-12) 12 November 1978 (age 38) Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France
Nationality	French
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	2004–present

Céline Sciamma (born 12 November 1978) is a French screenwriter and film director.

Sciamma's work is strikingly minimalist, partly the legacy of her mentor, Xavier Beauvois, who advised her while she was a student at the major French film school, La Fémis. While highly formalist and idiosyncratic (notably in her lack of dialogue and very stylized mise-en-scene), Sciamma's filmmaking, beginning with Water Lilies relates closely to the characteristics of first-time filmmaking in France, notably in its emphasis on coming-of-age films focused on adolescents or pre-adolescents. Sciamma is very interested, moreover, in the fluidity of gender and sexual identity among girls during this formative period.

Sciamma was raised in Cergy-Pontoise.

Her debut film Water Lilies was selected for screening in the section Un certain regard at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The film secured three nominations for the 2008 César Awards; Sciamma was nominated for the 2008 César Award for Best Debut, and actresses Adèle Haenel and Louise Blachère were both nominated for the 2008 César Award for Most Promising Actress.

Sciamma directed her first short film Pauline in 2009 as part of a government anti-homophobia campaign.

Her 2011 film Tomboy was written and shot in a matter of months. It premiered at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section of the festival.