Petra Haffter studied political science, journalism and theater studies at the Freie Universität Berlin. From 1974, she worked for various radio stations as a writer. Haffter has directed, written, and produced for television and feature films since 1976. She directed her first film Wahnsinn, das ganze Leben ist Wahnsinn in 1978. From 1977-1985 she worked mainly as a producer for the production company C & H Filmproduktion Berlin, which she co-founded with Richard Claus. She subsequently founded the production company Petra Haffter Filmproduktion. Petra Haffter has directed numerous episodes of the TV series Tatort and Die Feuerengel.