Born in 1963 in Gera, GDR, the famed auteur began work as a sound engineer before completing a traineeship at the DEFA Studio for Feature Film.  Dresen studied directing at the Konrad Wolf Academy for Film and Television and went on to direct his first feature film Stilles Land in 1992.

His breakthrough came with Night Shapes (1999) which won the Best Actor Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). Success at the Cannes Film Festival followed with Cloud 9 (2008) awarded the Coup de Coeur jury prize and Stopped on Track (2011) the Un Certain Regard Prize. In 2018 Gundermann was awarded six German film prizes, and in 2022 Rabiye Kurnaz VS. George W. Bush was awarded two Silver Bears and three German Film Awards.

Also a theatre director, Dresen has worked at the Cottbus State Theater, the Theater Basel and the Bavarian State Opera. 

Andreas Dresen will be present at Opening Night in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and will be holding in-cinema Q&A sessions at the following sessions of From Hilde, With Love.