From one of Australia's greatest filmmakers, Kriv Stenders (Boxing Day, MIFF 2007; Blacktown, MIFF 2005), comes the heartwarming tale of an Australian country town and the dog it loved.

In Dampier, an isolated town deep in the Pilbara, a free-wheeling kelpie known as Red Dog lies close to death. As the townsfolk keep vigil by his bedside, they tell newcomer Tom (Luke Ford) tales of the dog's many exploits.

This is the unadorned premise of Red Dog, a charming, nostalgic and comical waltz through a forgotten Australia where men were men, beer was beer, shorts were short, and a single flatulent dog had the capacity to unite an entire community. Recounting the lives, loves and general mishaps of the Dampier townfolk, Red Dog is a film that revels in its simplicity, an utterly endearing exercise in humour without guile and sentiment without excess.

Adapted from the Louis de Bernières novella - which was itself adapted from Dampier folklore - Red Dog is a heartfelt salute to Australia as it once was and our cinema as it used to be.

Kriv Stenders is a guest of the Festival.

See the film and read the book - browse online at Readings

D Kriv Stenders P Nelson Woss S Daniel Taplitz Dist Village Roadshow Entertainment TD 35mm/2010