Philipp Stölzl was trained as a set and costume designer at the Münchner Kammerspielen where he graduated in 1988.

He debuted as director in 1998 with the music video for Rammstein's "Du riechst so gut".

He has continued to direct videos for artists such as Mick Jagger, Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Madonna, and Garbage's Bond theme "The World Is Not Enough".

It was followed by North Face (2008), Young Goethe in Love (2010), Erased (2012) and The Physician (2013).

Stölzl's work for the opera stage includes a production of Charles Gounod's Faust in 2008 and Giuseppe Verdi's Il trovatore in 2013.