[9] As a teenager, Hansen-Løve enjoyed acting and appeared in Late August, Early September and Sentimental Destinies, both directed by Olivier Assayas.

In November 2013, Hansen-Løve began filming Eden, an autobiographical drama about a young man who discovers the burgeoning French house music scene during the early 90s.

The film was inspired and co-written by her brother Sven, who had been part of the 90s club scene as a DJ.

Hansen-Løve went through multiple producers while trying to make the film, as obtaining the rights to the music she wanted to use was time-consuming and expensive.

[17] During promotion for Eden, Hansen-Løve announced that her next film, Things to Come (L'Avenir), would star Isabelle Huppert as a philosophy teacher whose seemingly perfect life begins to fall apart when her husband leaves her and her children move away from home.

[20][21] In September 2018, Hansen-Løve premiered Maya at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival as a part of the Special Presentations section.

[24] The film was set to star Greta Gerwig, Mia Wasikowska, Anders Danielsen Lie and John Turturro, but in August 2018 it was announced that Vicky Krieps would replace Gerwig and Turturro would no longer star in the film.

[28] Eden, Father of My Children, and Things to Come all draw on important people or events in Hansen-Løve's life, though she has said that while all her films are personal, they are not autobiographical.

[29] Time Out writer Dave Calhoun describes Hansen-Løve's films as "intimate, realist, free of melodrama.

"[31] Eschewing shocking or dramatic events, Hansen-Løve rests her narratives on subtle emotional shifts; climactic moments occur naturally, with no prior indication.

[9] Hansen-Løve's films have been compared to those of French auteur Eric Rohmer, whose work influenced her.

[19][27] Hansen-Løve has said that All Is Forgiven, Father of My Children, and Goodbye First Love are a loose trilogy about the transformations involved in transitioning to adulthood.