Her early career involved work as a hospital aide and an on-air announcer for the Cologne television station WDR-3.

[1] During a trip to Italy in 1967, she interned with film directors Pier Paolo Pasolini and Sergio Corbucci, a decisive experience in her choice to pursue film-making.

[citation needed] The controversial made-for-television movie Shirin's Wedding depicted the tragic death of a Turkish migrant to Germany, addressing the subject of forced marriage.

[citation needed] In the late 1970s, Sanders-Brahms' films turned away from political themes and towards radical subjectivism, linking mother-daughter relationships to the tumultuous history of Germany.

[1] She gained international recognition with Germany, Pale Mother, which addresses German women's experiences during and after the Nazi period.