Kriv Stenders

Kriv Stenders is an Australian writer, film producer, and director, best known for his 2011 film Red Dog and the 2014 thriller film Kill Me Three Times. His new film The Correspondent, based on a memoir by Australian journalist Peter Greste, had its world premiere on the opening gala night of the Adelaide Film Festival on 23 October 2024.

In his early career, he made many music videos for well-known Australian rock musicians and bands, including The Go-Betweens, later the subject of a feature-length documentary.

Early life and education Kriv Stenders was born in Brisbane, Queensland.

He attended high school in Toowong. He met The Go-Betweens at a record store in Toowong, and became friends with them. Stenders began by directing music videos for many famous Australian bands and musicians, including Angry Anderson, Mental As Anything, Ian Moss, The Go-Betweens, Noiseworks. John Farnham, Single Gun Theory, Ratcat, and 1927. The film stars Stenders friend Tony Ryan as an aboriginal bus driver who falls in love with a woman in a relationship with a married man. The film was screened at the Sydney Film Festival in 2005 and won the audience award in the sidebar section. As of 17 November 2011, it had made more than A$21 million at the Australian box office since opening in August 2011. Eleven days after opening, Red Dog became the highest-grossing Australian film of 2011. It has won numerous awards.

He wrote and directed a feature documentary film about The Go-Betweens, called The Go-Betweens: Right Here, the title based on their 1987 song "Right Here". The film had a cinema release in 2017, as well as being showcased at Splendour In The Grass.

His film The Correspondent, based on journalist Peter Greste's memoir The First Casualty and starring Richard Roxburgh, had its world premiere on the opening gala night of the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival.

Other activities Stenders is an ambassador for SmartFone Flick Fest (SF3), a film festival held annually in Sydney.

Filmography (selected) Music videos "Streets Of Your Town" - 1988, The Go-Betweens, music video

Films Motherland (1994) Red Dog: True Blue (2016) Australia Day (2017) The Go-Betweens: Right Here (2017; documentary) 2015 The Principal, episode 1 Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy 2026 The Correspondent Best Direction Australian Directors Guild

Australian Film Institute Awards

Australian Screen Directors Association

Berlin International Film Festival

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards

Heartland Film Festival

IF Awards

Melbourne International Film Festival

Montréal Festival of New Cinema

Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma des Antipodes

TIFF Kids International Film Festival

White Sands International Film Festival