A former newspaper journalist and editor, Helmut Kopetzky worked as a freelance producer and editor for radio and television since 1972. 

He has more than 100 full-length documentaries to his credit, and several have won awards, like Prix Futura (two times), Prix Europa (two times), Premio Ondas (three times), Ohio State Award and Japan Prize. 

In his work, Kopetzky has focused on World Wars I and II and other historical subjects; social life in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Soviet Union/Russia and contemporary Latin America; and the unification of the two Germanies. 

He has conducted feature workshops in New York, Brazil, Kenya, Poland, Romania, Moldavia, Holland, The Czech Republic, Mexico and Ecuador, and lectured at Leipzig University. 

For four years Kopetzky has been working as an editor in the Feature Department at Sender Freies Berlin (SFB). Together with his wife he operates his own digital studio.