Kriv Stenders

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.

In 1989 he graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.

Career

Between 1987 and 1994, 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.

During this time, he also made short-form films and TV commercials, via his company Prod Films. In 1994, he made the documentary short-feature Motherland, exploring the Latvian and Australian heritage of his two grandmothers.

In 2002, he shot his first feature film, the micro-budget, self-finance film Blacktown. 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.

In February 2007, Boxing Day premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival.

His film Red Dog was released in 2011. 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)
• The Illustrated Family Doctor (2005)
• Blacktown (2005)
• Boxing Day (2007)
• Lucky Country (2009)
• Red Dog (2011)
• Kill Me Three Times (2014)
• Red Dog: True Blue (2016)
• Australia Day (2017)
• The Go-Betweens: Right Here (2017; documentary)
• Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (2019)
• Slim and I (2020)
• The Correspondent (2024)

Television

• Wake in Fright (2017 miniseries)
• Mother and Son (2023)

Awards

[[AACTA Awards|Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards]]

[[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

[[The White Sands International Film Festival|White Sands International Film Festival]]

References

References

1. Spencer, Megan. (1 October 2017). "Before Hollywood: Kriv Stenders".
2. Munt, Alex. (March 2008). ""Am I crazy to make a film for only $100,000 or am I crazy not to?" Kriv Stenders goes Micro-budget Digital for Boxing Day".
3. Maddox, Garry. (17 February 2007). "One from the heart".
4. {{YouTube. dhHb_yZnRVM. "In My Youth" / NOISEWORKS - Original Director's Cut (1989)
5. (27 June 2005). "Blacktown filmmaker rewarded". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
6. (1 August 2023). "Kriv Stenders".
7. {{YouTube. wiHfDgc02Q8. The Go-Betweens: Right Here – Trailer
8. Slatter, Sean. (17 September 2024). "Timothy David's 'Kangaroo Island' to close Adelaide Film Festival as full line-up, jury announced".
9. "SF3 festival ambassadors".
10. Hemsworth, Luke. (26 March 2015). "[Interview] Luke Hemsworth Talks 'Kill Me Three Times'".
11. (7 July 2015). "DVD Talk".
12. "Winners & Nominees".
13. Groves, Don. (October 29, 2015). "The Dressmaker leads AACTA Awards noms".
14. (2012-07-19). "ADG - Australian Directors Guild".
15. "Winners & Nominees".
16. "2005".
17. "The Illustrated Family Doctor".
18. "{{!}} Berlinale {{!}} Archive {{!}} Programme {{!}} Programme".