Becker studied Germanistics, History and American Studies at the Free University in Berlin. He followed this with a job at a sound studio in 1980 and then began studies at the German Film and Television Academy (dffb). He started working as a freelance cameraman in 1983 and graduated from the dffb in 1986 with BUTTERFLIES0, which won the Student Academy Award in 1988, the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival, and the Saarland Prime-Minister's Award at the 1988 Ophuels Festival Saarbruecken. He is best known to the international audience for his work GOODBYE LENIN!