He was raised in Germany and US, but also traveled extensively. He studied Medicine and Psychology before beginning in the cinema with some acting. In 1986 he began doing his own films. His first documentary was The Last Picture Taken. In 2005 he gained acclaim for Into Great Silence. His 2013 film The Police Officer's Wife was screened in the main competition section at the 70th Venice International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize.
He is lecturing at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy since 2001 and is a professor at International Film School in Cologne.
Philip Groening was the jury President of the Orrizonti section at the Venice international film festival in 2006, member of the main international jury at Venice international filmfestival 2014, member of the jury at the Filmfest Munich in 2009, and jury member at the Message of Man Festival in St Petersburg 2014.
