Russell Jenkins was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1989 to Bramwell Jenkins and Denise Jenkins (nee Pope). He has two sisters, Emily Blades (nee Jenkins) and, make-up artist/hair stylist, Caitlyn Jenkins. He grew up in the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide and found a love for movies early in his life. His favourite films as a kid were The Matrix (1999), Starship Troopers (1997), and Jurassic Park (1993) among many others. But his view of films as entertainment changed to a need to be a film maker changed when he first saw The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Russell Jenkins recalls; 'By the time the trilogy had ended and I'd seen what Peter Jackson had done over in New Zealand I was convinced that I could too have success in the industry'. 'I had a [high school] teacher who asked me when I was 15 what I wanted my career to be. I said; I want to be a film maker. He just shook his head.'

Despite this judgment, which he has always remembered, he had the support of his parents and other teachers at Para Hills High School, where he attended from 2002 to 2006. One of the supporting teachers was drama teacher Maria Papapavlou who encouraged Russell to write and direct two plays for the school, one of which travelled to other schools around South Australia.

Russell spent some time after school working as a photographers assistant, in a photo processing lab, and at a cinema before travelling to the UK in 2009 to live and work in a backpackers hostel in Nottingham. When he returned to Adelaide he began work in a movie rental shop before starting an Advanced Diploma course in Screen & Media, graduating in 2013. He made Behind the Shadow (2012) and The Challenger (2013) whilst studying, with Revelation (2013) being his graduation film project. It is in film school he met longtime collaborator David Kauschke. He also met actors Damian Rieck, Kristen Tommasini, and Brian Godfrey, who have all appeared in many of Russell's films.

After study he began volunteering at Channel 44 Adelaide as a program editor. Around regular work he found time to write screenplays and made Bogans Vs. Time Travel (2015). It was originally intended to be a pilot for a web-series but remained a short film due to a lack of interest in the project. His next project was the short film Reticent (2017). "It took a very long time to pull together, as it seems anything in a city like Adelaide tends to be, but the end product I'm very proud of". "I tried my hand at putting myself onto the screen and trying to tell my truth. I am an anxious person and find it difficult in social situations and I believe it affects my life everyday especially my choice of career where meeting new people and impressing strangers is such an important part of progressing my career." Reticent went on to be selected for three independent film festivals and gained an award nomination for Best Australian Short Film and the Sydney Indie Film Festival 2018.

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Damian Rieck, Russell Jenkins, David Kauschke, James Finlay, Jim Fragnito, and Pietro D'Andrea in Reticent (2018)

animation department production assistant

Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, James Corden, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Rebel Wilson, Taylor Swift, Jason Derulo, and Francesca Hayward in Cats (2019)

Russell Jenkins

Russell Jenkins

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