Cris Kennedy is a film critic and film writer for Australian newspapers and has been film critic for his hometown newspaper The Canberra Times for nearly twenty years. Cris worked as in science communications for the CSIRO - Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - and during his time there turned a one-off science film weekend into the science film festival SCINEMA which is still running 24 years later, now run by the RiAus. As well as championing science film, he has also helped forster emerging talent in his hometown, starting the Canberra Short Film Festival in 1998 (still running) which was the starting ground for a number of international careers, including James Wan of Saw fame.