Russell Gienapp

CINEMATOGRAPHER, DIRECTOR

Russell is a Métis (Métis Nation of Ontario) cinematographer/Director based in Toronto, Ontario, with over 25 years of experience capturing story. His diverse experience ranges from social issue documentaries to projects with themes of exploration & adventure and commercials. He brings to every project a unique technological understanding with an artist’s eye and a photographer’s aesthetic.

Making feature documentaries to hybrid documentary series, he has travelled the globe telling stories for broadcasters around the world. “How I got Here” (BYUTV), “Political Blind Date” (TVO), “Extreme Ice Machines” (Discovery), ”Company Town” (CBC), “Gambling on Extinction” (TVO,ZDF), “Giraffes: The Forgotten Giants” (Nature of Things), “You Gotta Eat Here!” (Food Network).  Russell also enjoys shooting and directing commercial content like the highly successful social media commercial series for “Spin Master’s Fuggler” campaign with over 5.5 million views on YouTube.  He has also shot commercials for Ontario Lottery, Canadian Turkey Growers, and Sauve (Unilever). He has enjoyed working on many science and natural history films: racoons in Toronto, crows in Seattle, Asian carp on the Illinois River, puffins in Newfoundland, and giraffes in Kenya.

His extreme cold expertise has taken him numerous times to the high arctic “March to the Pole” (History), and the mountains of Mongolia “Beast Legends” (SYFY). Projects have also taken him to the North Atlantic for “Cold Water Cowboys” (Discovery Channel) and searching for underwater mysteries in Laos, Philippines, Saba, and Tinian Island Detectives (History Channel/Smithsonian Channel).

For Russell, “home” is anywhere there is a story to capture.