Kriv Stenders

The true story of an ordinary dog, whose good fortune and ability to connect with people catapults him to fame.

Love can be difficult at the best of times, and the remarkable Blacktown is a disarmingly honest tale of love-against-the-odds. Office secretary Nikki (Nikki Owen) is disillusioned with her fraught, ‘sometime’ relationship with her married boyfriend, Peter. Emotionally scarred by the dysfunctional relationship, she all but gives up on the possibility of finding anything more meaningful. But in the wake of a torturous and disturbing blind date, Nikki meets Tony (Tony Ryan), a “black fella on a white bus”. Despite their obvious differences and Nikki’s disillusionment, the charismatic Tony shows Nikki that there is indeed room for love and romance in the desperate world of Blacktown. (Madman Entertainment)

Vietnam War, 1966. Australia and New Zealand send troops to support the United States and South Vietnamese in their fight against the communist North. Soldiers are very young men, recruits and volunteers who have never been involved in a combat. On August 18th, members of Delta Company will face the true horror of a ruthless battle among the trees of a rubber plantation called Long Tân. They are barely a hundred. The enemy is a human wave ready to destroy them.

While on a seemingly routine job, a jaded hit man discovers that he's not the only one with his target in the crosshairs.

The legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.

In 1950s Australia, tenacious veteran detectives Pollock and McArthur, united by a series of missing person cases, are led to a vast, sprawling and remote ranch in the remote Outback. Isolated, out on a limb, and each struggling with their own demons, the duo unwittingly stumble into a spider’s web: a highly intelligent, resourceful and implacable serial killer, himself scarred by war and hidden undiscovered for decades, is remorselessly stalking them.

When eleven-year-old Mick is shipped off to his grandfather's cattle station in Western Australia, he befriends a scrappy, one-of-a-kind dog that will change his life forever.

December 2013, in the shadow of the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Australian journalist Peter Greste is confronted with the brutal realities of reporting from one of the most dangerous cities on earth. Accused of terrorism, Greste becomes a pawn in the middle of a deadly game full of corrupt officials and ancient rivalries – with only his wits keeping him alive.

Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen reigned over Queensland for 19 tumultuous years (1968–1987). Hugely popular, he presided over enormous growth, but corruption raged under his tenure, as did electoral manipulation and often violent suppression of dissent. This film tells Joh’s story through rare archival footage and revelatory interviews, exploring a life shaped by a hard yakka, god-fearing upbringing on his family’s farm. Trump’s spectre is evoked in Joh’s famously mangled and meandering way of speaking – brilliantly dramatised by Richard Roxburgh – alongside his unyielding execution of power and the desperate denial of his final days in office.

Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen reigned over Queensland for 19 tumultuous years (1968–1987). Hugely popular, he presided over enormous growth, but corruption raged under his tenure, as did electoral manipulation and often violent suppression of dissent. This film tells Joh’s story through rare archival footage and revelatory interviews, exploring a life shaped by a hard yakka, god-fearing upbringing on his family’s farm. Trump’s spectre is evoked in Joh’s famously mangled and meandering way of speaking – brilliantly dramatised by Richard Roxburgh – alongside his unyielding execution of power and the desperate denial of his final days in office.

1902....the Australian Federation is a year old. Twelve year-old Tom's father, Nat, has dragged him and his sister, Sarah, to an isolated farm at the edge of the woods. But Nat's dream of living off the land has died and he is losing his grip on sanity. When three ex-soldiers arrive at their cabin one night Tom, like his father, believes they are providence.

Told in real time and shot as a single take, BOXING DAY documents the minute by minute events across the course of an afternoon in the life of Chris Sykes - a recovering alcoholic and estranged father. Living alone on home detention, Chris is preparing Christmas lunch for his family when an old friend turns up at his doorstep and reveals a disturbing truth. When his daughter, his wife and her new boyfriend finally arrive, the situation slowly and inevitability escalates and we are drawn into the compelling story of a desperate father who finally exposes the dark and disturbing secret that has torn his family apart.

On Australia's most controversial national holiday, the lives of three Australians from diverse cultural backgrounds will collide, illuminating contemporary issues of racial tension and national identity that simmer beneath the surface of modern Australia.

Gary Kelp (Samuel Johnson) is losing the plot. As he edits a medical journal called The Illustrated Family Doctor, his life and his body seem to be falling apart. A black comedy about coping with the modern world, based on the novel by David Snell.

Gary Kelp (Samuel Johnson) is losing the plot. As he edits a medical journal called The Illustrated Family Doctor, his life and his body seem to be falling apart. A black comedy about coping with the modern world, based on the novel by David Snell.

Documentary portrait of Joy McKean, Australia’s Queen of country music. Follows her performance and songwriting career, decades of touring around Australia, and her marriage of more than 50 years to fellow musician Slim Dusty.

Documentary portrait of Joy McKean, Australia’s Queen of country music. Follows her performance and songwriting career, decades of touring around Australia, and her marriage of more than 50 years to fellow musician Slim Dusty.

Short film directed by Kriv Stenders based on the play, "Jack" by Jim McNeil. Starring - Tony Ryan & Richard Green Awards Best Australian Short Film - 1998 AFI Awards Best Short Film Under 15 Minutes - Dendy Awards 1998 Sydney Film Festival Best Australian Short Film - The Erwin Rado Award 1998 Melbourne Film Festival Best European Short Film - 1998 Rotterdam Film Festival Best Director - 1998 St Kilda Film Festival Best Short Film - 1999 Noosa Film Festival

Short film directed by Kriv Stenders based on the play, "Jack" by Jim McNeil. Starring - Tony Ryan & Richard Green Awards Best Australian Short Film - 1998 AFI Awards Best Short Film Under 15 Minutes - Dendy Awards 1998 Sydney Film Festival Best Australian Short Film - The Erwin Rado Award 1998 Melbourne Film Festival Best European Short Film - 1998 Rotterdam Film Festival Best Director - 1998 St Kilda Film Festival Best Short Film - 1999 Noosa Film Festival

Sam Neill examines the enduring myths of the Anzac legend, sharing his family's war stories and uncovering forgotten truths that haunt us still today.

Vengeance motivates a young man to go to war with the corrupt fishing barons that rule his town, sending him on an epic journey that transforms him from a small-time abalone poacher into a criminal gang boss.

Brock: Over the Top is a feature length documentary that not only chronicles the extraordinary life of Australia’s greatest racing car driver, Peter Brock, but peels away the surface to reveal the profoundly human story behind the legend. This film is a cinematic, thrilling yet intimately personal portrait of a life lived on the racing track and in the public eye. Using a treasure trove of rare archival material coupled with candid interviews with the key characters in Peter Brock’s life including his family, his partners, and closest colleagues, this film tells the epic story of Brock's early obsession with cars, his hard won ascension to the top, his incredible record-breaking victories at Bathurst, his various professional and personal controversies, and his ultimate, tragic death on the race track.

Brock: Over the Top is a feature length documentary that not only chronicles the extraordinary life of Australia’s greatest racing car driver, Peter Brock, but peels away the surface to reveal the profoundly human story behind the legend. This film is a cinematic, thrilling yet intimately personal portrait of a life lived on the racing track and in the public eye. Using a treasure trove of rare archival material coupled with candid interviews with the key characters in Peter Brock’s life including his family, his partners, and closest colleagues, this film tells the epic story of Brock's early obsession with cars, his hard won ascension to the top, his incredible record-breaking victories at Bathurst, his various professional and personal controversies, and his ultimate, tragic death on the race track.

A chronological history of one of the most influential bands to come out of Australia, the Go-Betweens.

A chronological history of one of the most influential bands to come out of Australia, the Go-Betweens.

Motherland is the story of two Latvian grandmothers who have lived in Australia (since the end of WWII), and although never knowing each other in their native Latvia, have become close friends since arriving in Australia. Not only did their similar experiences in their motherland draw them together, but these two elderly women have one other thing in common - they are the filmmaker's two grandmothers. Shot in black and white, in both Australia and Latvia, the film explores the women's lives, past and present. The film is roughly divided into two parts. In the first half, the women reflect on their lives in Australia, their families, their beliefs, and their memories of life and people in Latvia.