One of her first directorial efforts was the 1957 short documentary Les Réfugiés, which depicted the plight of Algerian war refugees along the Algerian-Tunisian border.
[4] Parallel to her activism, Decugis gained recognition as an editor, working on short films by François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, two leading figures of the Nouvelle Vague.
On March 9, 1960, while working with Truffaut on Shoot the Piano Player, Decugis was arrested in Paris for having rented an apartment to a member of the Algerian National Liberation Front.
[5][6] Decugis became Éric Rohmer’s primary editor in the late 1960s, editing many of his most acclaimed films, including My Night at Maud’s (1969), Claire’s Knee (1970), and The Marquise of O (1976).
Her 2016 film, René ou le roman de mon père, was a personal documentary featuring family photos and reflections on her father, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 37.