Mike Jenkins, a talented writer and director, attended Shore School in North Sydney and was involved in the anti-Vietnam war movement in Sydney. He studied Arts at Sydney University, majoring in Philosophy, with his Honours thesis focusing on “Plato and Justice”. Mike began his career as a cadet journalist for the ABC in the early 60s before moving onto a directing cadetship in Sydney. He worked on various television shows and plays throughout the 60s and 70s, receiving critical acclaim for his work.
In 1980, Mike was awarded a scholarship to study screenwriting at UCLA, where he learned a great deal about writing screenplays. He went on to release Scales of Justice in 1983, which received both critical acclaim and controversy. Throughout his career, Mike faced financial insecurity due to the long timelines of projects and minimal pay for Australian directors. He met his second partner, Amanda Robson, on the set of Rebel in 1984, and they had two children together.
Mike directed The Leaving of Liverpool in 1992, a project he was particularly proud of due to its deep social justice themes. The 1990s and early 2000s were filled with various demanding productions for Mike, but it wasn’t until The Bali Project collapsed in 2005 that he started to contemplate a different lifestyle. He and Amanda purchased a property in Tasmania in 2002, initially as a holiday home, but eventually decided to settle there permanently in 2006.
While living in Tasmania, Mike undertook various creative projects, including building an award-winning house with architect Jim Jones and a 10-year boat re-building project resulting in the trawler-style vessel Echo. However, in early 2021, Mike was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, which quickly progressed to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a rare and untreatable neurological disorder. Despite the challenges, Mike faced his diagnosis with courage and passed away peacefully in March 2023.
Mike Jenkins is survived by his spouse, Amanda, children Daniel, Jack, Thomas, and Matilda, and siblings David and Elizabeth. His legacy as a talented and socially conscious writer and director lives on through his body of work in the Australian television and film industry.
