Jens Wischnewski was born in 1981. From 2004 on, he studied drama, film, sociology and art history in Cologne. In 2006, he enrolled in the director's class at the Filmakademie Baden-Würtemberg, from which he graduated in 2012. During that time, he completed several award-winning shorts. His 27-minute graduation project "Die Welt danach" (2012) premiered at the Hofer Filmtage and went on to win awards at a number of regional festivals.

Jens Wischnewski made his feature film debut with the drama "Die Reste meines Lebens" (2016), in which a widower falls in love shortly after the death of his wife, but eventually is haunted by the remains of his former life. The film won the screenplay award "Fritz Raff" and the prize of the youth jury at the 2017 Max-Ophüls-Preis.