Sanders-Brahms is a German director, screenwriter and producer. She studied drama, English and German literature and worked partly as a TV hostess. For some time she also worked as assistant director to Sergio Corbucci and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Her directing debut was a short documentary Angelika Urban, Verkäuferin, verlobt (1970). As a director she has dealt with a wide specter of social topics such as mental illnesses, problems of the working class and women, relationships between mothers and daughters, as well as the role of her own parents in the Nazi regime. Her most famous films include Shirins Hochzeit (1976), Heinrich (1977), and Germany Pale Mother (Deutschland, bleiche Mutter, 1979) which brought her international fame; The Future of Emily (Flügel und Fesseln, 1985), Laputa (1987), Apple Trees (Apfelbäume, 1992), My Heart Is Mine Alone (Mein Herz - Niemandem!, 1997). She is currently working on the film Clara, which tells the story of two composers from the 19th century - Clara and Robert Schumann.