Quotes from Celine Sciamma

As a screenwriter, you're always being told: a good scene is one where somebody wants something, the other one doesn't want to give it.

I do not want to belong to cinema history. I am a woman - I know I'm doomed anyway.

Films made by women belong to the history of cinema; it's just that we get erased pretty quickly.

I wanted to talk about women artists but I wanted to depart from the biopic dynamic, that trope where a strong woman succeeds in a very oppressive world. This idea that 'it can happen if you want.'

Every film relies on our brain and heart to expand its universe. 'Petite Maman' leaves room for your story to be looked at in that room.

I don't care about being a pioneer. People act like it would be cool to be a pioneer. I'm okay to be looked at as that, but it's just that we don't get transmitted our cultural heritage as women artists.

I decided to put cinema at the centre of my life when I was 13 and going through the biggest crisis of my life: teenagehood.

I think movies, I think art, can change the world.

I think all movies are political. The ones that are not political intentionally are the worst, and have the worst politics, I think.

To me synchronised swimming is a metaphor for the job of being a girl. They have to fake their smiles, they're made up like dolls and they can't show the effort they're making, yet under the surface of the water it's a struggle and a sacrifice.

When I made my first film I was 25 years old, and that's pretty rare. Being so young my experience and the thing that I wanted to talk about was teenagehood, plus in France we have that strong tradition of the coming-of-age story being made as your first film.

I wanted the ending of 'Water Lilies' to be open, so that everyone can have their point of view about what will happen to the girls.

I always wish for the audience to feel less lonely when they leave the room. To have the film as a companion, as a shelter for themselves.

That's why I like my job so much, cinema is a nation. I see on Twitter, there's people are calling themselves Portrait Nation. That's beautiful. To me, it's about campaigning for cinema, that's my commitment.

Love educates us about art. Art consoles us from lost love. Our great loves are a condition of our future love.

We are always told that with women's rights and opportunities for women there's been constant progress, and it isn't true. It works in cycles.

Of course, every movie is political, some people just deny it because they like the world the way it is.

My film-making is the privilege of French cinema. I would have to do things totally differently elsewhere. But I think I could learn from that and have fun being part of a bigger collective.

I identify myself with the male gaze, I grew up with the male gaze, I've been excited by the male gaze. I'm a product of that culture.

Directing adults is not the same kind of collaboration as you have with a teenager or kid.

I'm a woman director and my movies are shown all around the world.

Really, with 'Water Lilies', the project was to end the movie where other movies would begin.

Thinking about making a love story without music was really frightening, Sciamma admitted. Because every love story we know, we think about 'Titanic' we think about the music, we think about 'Gone with the Wind' we think about the music, we think about 'E.T.' we think about the music, and every love story has its own tune, 'That's our song.'

I want to do the most feminist, radical film.