Born in Aachen in 1973, Jan Krüger first studied Electronics, Physics and Social Studies and after graduation enrolled in the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM) to study Film and Television. He earned his degree in 2001. Since 1998, he has been working as an author and director for the German broadcasters ZDF, WDR and an advertising agency. After the documentary "In den Kreis des Lichts" (1997) Krüger filmed the two shorts "Hochzeitsvorbereitungen" (2000) and "Freunde" ("The Whiz Kids", 2011) which received several national and international awards.

His first full-length feature "Rückenwind" ("Light Gradient"), a homosexual love story with fairy-tale elements set in the rural region of Brandenburg, was presented at the Berlin International Film Festival in the section Panorama in 2009. Two years later, Krüger's "Auf der Suche" ("Looking for Simon") had its premiere in the Forum of the Berlinale Premiere. In this psychological drama Corinna Harfouch portrays a mother looking for her gay son in Marseille, who has vanished without a trace.