Eileen Hofer was born in 1976 in Zurich. She worked as a press officer for a film festival and then began her career as a journalist for a Swiss daily newspaper in 2005. She spent two years as chief editor of a Swiss magazine before starting off her career as a self-taught filmmaker.

Her first short film, "Roots" (2008) was screened in 70 festivals (Locarno, Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs) and received over 10 awards. Her second short, "The Mourning of the Marry Stork" (40 festivals such as Rotterdam) won the Suissimage/SSA New Generation Prize for Best Short Film. "He was a Giant With Brown Eyes" is her first self-produced, creative documentary. The world premiere of the movie took place in Rotterdam Film Festival in January 2012.