Hannes Hirsch, born in Tübingen, Germany, completed his directing studies at the Berlin Film School Filmarche in 2013. In 2009, he and fellow student Diemo Kemmesies founded the production company Milieufilm, through which they made their first films, including the half-hour "Beach Boy" (2011), which screened at several festivals and won the prize for best medium-length film at the Achtung Berlin Festival.

Subsequently, Hirsch began a program at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) in the narrative film class under the direction of Thomas Arslan. In 2018, he created the 24-minute experimental short film "Routes" in Athens, featuring actors he had met through the queer dating app Grindr. Over the years, Hirsch has also developed film equipment rental software and scheduling software called Fuzzlecheck.

Between January and September 2020, Hirsch shot his first feature film in Berlin: "Drifter," a coming-of-age story set in Berlin's gay scene. The world premiere took place in the Panorama section of the Berlinale in 2023. "Drifter" received the award for Best Feature Film at the First Steps Awards. The movie was theatrically released in October 2023.