Florian Gallenberger was born in Munich in 1972. Already appearing in TV productions as a kid, he first started to study philosophy, psychology and Russian literature in 1991 before enrolling at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF) in Munich in 1992. During his time there, he worked on Wim Wenders's "Die Gebrüder Skladanowsky" ("A Trick of the Light"). Following his student shorts, he graduated with "Quiero Ser", which won the student Oscar® in 2000 and the Oscar® for Best Short in 2001.

He went on to participate in the omnibus feature "Honolulu" before directing his first feature-length film "Schatten der Zeit" ("Shadows of Time") which premiered at the 2004 TIFF and also screened at the Berlin IFF: The film won several awards, including Bavarian Film Awards for Best First Feature and Best Cinematography.

Between 2007 and 2009, he helmed the international co-production "John Rabe" starring Ulrich Tukur, Daniel Brühl, Steve Buscemi and Anne Consigny. The film earned Gallenberger a nomination for Best Director at the German Film Awards and took home four Lolas, including the awards for Best Feature Film and Best Male Actor.

Gallenberger served as producer on the tragicomedy "Hin und weg" ("Tour de Force", 2013) before returning to the director's chair for the 2015 thriller "Colonia Dignidad – Es gibt kein Zurück" ("Colonia") starring Daniel Brühl, Emma Watson and Michael Nyqvist. The film won the "Pierrot" for Best Production at the 2016 Bavarian Film Awards.

Next, Gallenberger shot the fairytale road movie "Grüner wird's nicht" ("As Green As It Gets", 2018) based on the novel by Jockel Tschiersch. Elmar Wepper played the leading role of an aging gardener who escapes his entrenched life in a propeller plane.   

For television he created the two-part drama "Der Überläufer" ("The Turncoat", 2018), based on the novel by Siegfried Lenz, about the experiences of a Wehrmacht soldier (Jannis Niewöhner) shortly before the end of World War II.    

Lighter fare was "Es ist nur eine Phase, Hase" ("It’s just a phase, Honey Bunny", 2021), based on motifs from the non-fiction book of the same name by Maxim Leo and Jochen Gutsch, about a couple in their late 40s whose relationship is threatened because of their respective midlife crises. The leading roles in the comedy were played by Christiane Paul and Christoph Maria Herbst. 

Since 2011, Florian Gallenberger holds a position as honorary professor at his alma mater HFF Munich.