His documentary films cover a variety of topics in areas such as culture & arts,[1] history,[2] science,[3] religion[4] or reportage.
At the same time he managed a commercial production studio in Manhattan, later becoming freelance camera assistant to top D.O.P.s like Howard Atherton, Allen Daviau, Ernest Day, Robert Fraisse or Geoffrey Wharton and then eventually began his own work as director/cameraman.
In the early 1990s he returned to his hometown Hamburg and soon began working as a documentary filmmaker and specialist for contemporary literature, for the cultural broadcast division of the NDR, shooting 18 episodes about leading authors like Paul Auster or Joseph Heller for the preeminent literary program "Bücherjournal" ("Book Journal").
In 2006 his German/French documentary "Genesis vs. Darwin" ("Von Göttern und Designern") about creationism in Europe, caused a public uproar which eventually led to the resignation of then cultural minister Karin Wolf.
The insights of the investigative film became part of the protocol of the European parliament's report on creationism in 2007[6] Papenbroock is a renowned author for TV-documentary programs like "Terra X", "Hitec" or "Menschen hautnah".