L-R: Lindy Morrison, Grant McLennan, Robert Forster. (Photo: Bleddyn Butcher.)
Having shot several of their music videos, Kriv Stenders is set to direct a documentary on Aussie band The Go Betweens.
Right Here: The Go-Betweens is described as exploring the “melodramatic saga behind the rise and fall” of the band.
The film is the first to be commissioned under the Screen NSW-ABC TV Arts Documentary Feature Fund, a new three-year joint initiative to fund a new feature length arts documentary each year.
Each film from the fund will get its world debut at the Sydney Film Festival prior to a screening on ABC TV.
“We’re delighted to partner with Screen NSW and ABC TV Arts to launch a brand-new Australian documentary focusing on the arts at the Sydney Film Festival. The world premiere of this film about an extraordinary band will undoubtedly be a highlight of our annual June Festival,” said SFF director Nashen Moodley.
Stenders described Right Here: The Go-Betweens as a “dream project.”
“The Go-Betweens and their music have been a fundamental part of my life since I was 15 years old. To be able to tell and share their epic story and to have original members onboard with me is a thrill beyond definition,” he said.
Go-Betweens co-founder Robert Forster said Stenders would “tell the story of The Go-Betweens with flair and precision."
Band member Lindy Morrison said the story of the band was one that had never been told before. “I am as excited as any Go-Betweens enthusiast to see the tales that may unfold in this chronicle of our years together,” she said.
The film will be produced by Joe Weatherstone, with Chris Hilton and David Alrich as executive producers for Essential Media and Entertainment.
Screen Australia is the film’s major investor through its documentary program.
Right Here: The Go-Betweens will premiere at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival.