Originally from San Francisco, Russ grew up in both Japan and the United States, which afforded him a unique international perspective on the world from a young age.
After completing his education at the University of Southern California, where he earned degrees in Cinema-Television, International Relations, and Japanese, Russ further honed his production skills at the UCLA Extension Program.
In 2002, Russ founded Russem Productions, a company aimed at showcasing his short films, including the award-winning "Girl with Gun" (2006),the critically acclaimed "The Assassin's Apprentice: Silbadores of the Canary Islands" (2017) starring Robert Picardo and Marina Sirtis, and the documentary "Restoration of Paradise" (2014).
Throughout his career, Russ has produced a diverse range of shorts, including "Mavet" (2004),the zombie-flick "The Diary" (2004),the vampire film "Perfect Red" (2006),as well as "Cult 11" (2010) and "The Meeting" (2013),two popular web series for which he directed two episodes each.
One of his most notable feature films is "Occupants: IndieGoGo Video" (2015),which won the "Best Sci-Fi Feature Film" Award at Shriekfest and was an Official Selection at the San Diego Comicon. The film was featured in the Huffington Post and marked Russ's fourth foray into feature filmmaking, following "Heaven's Messenger" (2007),"Chasing the Green" (2009),and "The Legends of Nethiah" (2012).
Today, Russ resides in Huntington Beach, California.
