Hans Steinbichler was born in 1966 in Solothurn/Switzerland. He studied Law in Passau and Film at the Academy of Television & Film (HFF/M) in Munich. He made the films "Abstieg" (short, 1996), "Mono" (short, 1998), "Verspiegelte Zeit - Erinnerungen von Angelika Schrobsdorff" (documentary, 1999), "Die Germaniker - römisch-deutsche Karrieren" (documentary, 2000), "Hierankl" (2003) starring Johanna Wokalek, "Der Moralist - Vittorio Hoesle entdeckt Amerika" (documentary, 2003), "Inseln im Chiemsee" (documentary, 2003), the acclaimed "Winterreise" ("Winter Journey", 2005) starring Josef Bierbichler and Sibel Kekilli, "Autistic Disco" (2007), "Die zweite Frau" ("My Mother, My Bride and I", 2007), and "Das Blaue vom Himmel" ("Promising the Moon", 2010).

In 2011 and 2012, Steinbichler directed two acclaimed entries of the TV series "Polizeiruf 110" starring Matthias Brandt. He next helmed the TV adaptation of the crime novel "Hattinger und die kalte Hand - Ein Chiemseekrimi" (2013), and directed "Landauer - Der Präsident" (2014), a made-for TV biopic on famous football club president Kurt Landauer.

In early 2015, Steinbichler began production on the feature film "Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank", starring Lea van Acken, Martina Gedeck and Ulrich Noethen. The film opened in theaters in March 2016 and earned Steinbichler the German directing award 'Metropolis' in the category 'Best Direction Feature Film'.    

Shortly before that, in February 2016, his TV film "Das Dorf des Schweigens" was broadcast, a critically acclaimed blend of family tragedy and psychological thriller. The feature film "Eine unerhörte Frau" ("The Unheard Woman", 2016) also received excellent reviews. It's based on a real case about a mother who fights against medical ignorance for the well-being of her daughter who is suffering from a mysterious illness. The film received several awards, among them the One Future Award at the Munich Film festival and the prize for Best Television Film at the 2018 German Television Awards.  

For television, Steinichler shot the crime thriller "Der Tod und das Mädchen - Van Leeuwens dritter Fall" (2017), "Gefangen: Der Fall K." (2018), a drama based on the Gustl Mollath case about a man who no longer wants to tolerate his wife's black-money dealings and unjustly ends up in a psychiatric ward as a result, and the two-part thriller "Walpurgisnacht" (2019).  

In between, Steinbichler shot the feature film "Hannes" (based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Rita Falk) in October 2018, about a teenager who decides to carry on the life of his comatose best friend for him. Due to the Corona pandemic, the film did not start in theaters until November 2021.