She wrote and directed Water Lilies (2007), Tomboy (2011), Girlhood (2014), Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), and Petite Maman (2021).

A common theme in Sciamma's films is the fluidity of gender, sexual identity among girls and women, and female gaze.

[5] Sciamma cites her grandmother as inspiration to her love of film, saying that she had a great interest in old Hollywood movies.

Sciamma also attended Utopia, an art house cinema theater in Cergy three times a week as a teenager.

[7] Xavier Beauvois, who was chairman of the evaluation panel, and could be considered as her mentor, persuaded her to make the film.

[9] Sciamma started her career writing the short films Les Premières Communions (2004) and Cache ta joie (2006).

The French title, "Naissance des Pieuvres," translates to "Birth of the Octupuses," but was altered for the international release.

Based on Sciamma's own encounter with the sport, the film's protagonist explores her burgeoning sexuality and attraction to the team's captain.

She was sought after by André Téchiné, whose work Sciamma admired as a youth, to co-write the screenplay for his 2016 film Being 17.

"[23] Sciamma then shot her fifth feature, Petite Maman, in the fall of 2020 and it premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in March 2021.

[25] That year she also co-wrote the 2021 film Paris, 13th District alongside Jacques Audiard and Léa Mysius.

[citation needed] She frequently collaborates with cinematographer Crystel Fournier, who worked on Sciamma's Girlhood trilogy, among others.

Sciamma has said that fashion and style form an important part of characterisation, which is why, though uncredited, she is often the costume designer for her films.

[28] Sciamma has cited David Lynch as a heavy influence, along with seeing Virginia Woolf as "the greatest novelist" and Chantal Akerman as "one of the most important filmmakers".

[29] Sciamma has spoken about the metaphorical purpose of using synchronized swimming in Water Lillies, which she claims "reveals a lot about the job of being a girl," due to the tension between athleticism and feminine aesthetics.

[12] A common theme in Sciamma's films is the fluidity of gender and sexual identity among girls and women.

[31] Sciamma’s notable in her thematic elements for female gaze, and many scholars have cited her as a pioneer for creating a new way of seeing women in media.

[44] In 2014, Adèle Haenel publicly acknowledged that she was in a relationship with Sciamma in her acceptance speech for her César Award.