# Kriv Stenders

Kriv Stenders is an Australian writer, film producer, and director, best known for his 2011 film Red Dog (2011) and the 2014 thriller film Kill Me Three Times. His new film The Correspondent, based on a memoir by Australian journalist Peter Greste, has 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 is of Latvian heritage on one side of the family. He subsequently lived on the Gold Coast, then in the Brisbane suburbs of Kenmore, Toowong, and later Annerley.
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, Choirboys, 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 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, has its world premiere on the opening gala night of the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival.

## Other activities

As of 2024 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
### Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2012 | Red Dog | Best Direction | Nominated | |
| 2015 | The Principal, episode 1 | Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy | Nominated | |

### Australian Directors Guild

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2007 | Boxing Day | ADG Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Red Dog | ADG Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film | Nominated | |

### Australian Film Institute Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 1998 | Two/Out | Best Short Fiction Film | Won | |
| 2005 | The Illustrated Family Doctor | Best Screenplay, Adapted | Nominated | |

### Australian Screen Directors Association

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2005 | The Illustrated Family Doctor | Best Direction of a First Feature Film | Nominated | |

### Berlin International Film Festival

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2017 | Red Dog: True Blue | Generation Kplus - Best Film | Nominated | |

### Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2005 | The Illustrated Family Doctor | Best Screenplay - Adapted | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Red Dog | Best Director | Nominated | |

### Heartland Film Festival

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2017 | Red Dog: True Blue | Narrative Feature | Won | |

### IF Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 2007 | Boxing Day | Best Director | Nominated |
| 2011 | Red Dog | Best Direction | Won |
| 2011 | Red Dog | Best Feature Film | Won |

### Melbourne International Film Festival

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 1998 | Two/Out | Best Australian Short Film | Won | |

### Montréal Festival of New Cinema

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2007 | Boxing Day | Special Mention | Won | |

### Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma des Antipodes

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2012 | Red Dog | Audience Award for Best Feature Film | Won | |

### TIFF Kids International Film Festival

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2017 | Red Dog: True Blue | Young People's Jury Award for Best Feature Film (Ages 8-10) | Won | |

### White Sands International Film Festival

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref |
| 2012 | Red Dog | Grand Jury Award | Won | |