Born in Colorno, Schivazappa entered the film industry in 1959 as an assistant director, collaborating with Valerio Zurlini, Mario Monicelli and Carlo Lizzani, among others. In 1963, he started collaborating with RAI for news reports and documentaries.

Schivazappa made his feature film debut in 1969, with the controversial BDSM-themed The Laughing Woman, which at the time had many problems with censorship. Following the success of his 1973 miniseries Vino e pane, in the following years he focused on television films and TV-series. In 1986 Schivazappa directed Serena Grandi in the erotic drama La signora della notte , produced by Giovanni Bertolucci.