Susanna Salonen was born in Lahti, Finland in 1966, and was raised in Lübeck, Germany. She was trained as a cinematographer in Berlin, and worked as lighting technician and camera assistant on films by well-known directors like Mika Kaurismäki, Jan de Bont and Tom Tykwer. Since 1988, she has been directing several documentaries including "Shea - Surfergirl" (2002) and "Der Anfang war gut" (2006).

"Patong Girl" (2014) is her first fiction feature film.