ACTOR

With a phenomenal six-decade career, Michael is an Australian icon who has undeniably shaped the entertainment industry. Having earned his place in the prestigious Australian Film Walk of Fame for his exceptional contributions, Michael is a true luminary, showcasing his versatile talent across television, film, and stage both in Australia and beyond. His impressive resume boasts appearances in some of the nation’s most successful productions.

As an Australian icon and our all-time favorite, we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Michael back as our Ambassador. Join us in extending a warm welcome to Michael as he returns to Stellar! Secure your VIP ticket for an exclusive opportunity to mingle with Michael and his fabulous wife Helen in the VIP pavilion and terrace.

Sophie’s debut fiction film, ‘52 Tuesdays’, (director/producer/co-writer) won the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival and the Crystal Bear at Berlinale. Her second feature film, 'Animals', premiered at Sundance and was released in 2019 in Australia, the UK, and Ireland. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
She also created, produced and directed Episode 4 of the acclaimed 4x1 hour series for SBS Australia, ‘The Hunting’, starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh.
⁣⁣
Sophie is co-founder of film collaborative Closer Productions, and also works as a producer, with a strong belief in nurturing new voices. She produced the feature documentary ‘In My Blood It Runs’, which premiered at the Hot Docs Festival in 2019 and was an official selection at the 2019 Melbourne International Film Festival.

Alyssa McClelland is an award-winning director and writer. She directed, wrote and starred in the cult-hit web series ‘One Step Closer To Home’ seasons 1 and 2. Her first short film ‘Emilia Eckle’ had a successful run on the international film festival circuit and her second short film ‘Nic and Shauna’ was a finalist in the world’s largest short film festival, Tropfest. 

Her latest short film ‘Second Best’ won the Dendy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the Sydney Film Festival 2018, as well as the award for Best Short Film at the Milano Film Festival, the award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film at Flickerfest International Film Festival, Best Foreign Film Award at the Lakeshorts Film Festival and the Youth Award at the 20MinMax Film Festival in Germany. It has screened at over 25 film festivals on the international circuit and last year Alyssa won the Australian Director’s Guild Award for Best Direction in a Short Film. 

A graduate of Australia’s national film school (AFTRS), Noakes’ innovative and subversive voice has won him numerous awards and catapulted him into the international scene with early representation from PrettyBird (US & UK), Partizan (France), Stink (Germany) and Scoundrel (Australia &New Zealand).

From his award winning short films ‘Julian’ (2007), ‘Mongrel’s Creed’ (2010) and ‘Nursery Rhymes’ (2017) to television commercials for Hornbach, Australia Day Lamb, and the notorious Doritos ‘Finger Cleaner,’ Noakes’ creations have screened around the world, earned him a Gold Ciclope award for best direction, a Gold Clio, Gold Epica, DWA (Deutsche Werbefilmakademie) for best direction, features on USA Today, Nowness, Staff Picks, Video Of The Week, the Wall Street Journal, AdWeek, Vice, millions of Youtube views and (his personal favourite) the front page of Reddit.

In 2017, Noakes launched original screen content production company Studio Goono (goono.tv) with long time collaborators Lucy Gaffy and Will Goodfellow.

Genevieve is an award-winning writer/director whose work has been showcased at various Oscar qualifying film festivals and the United Nations. She's the first person in Australian history to hire people with intellectual disability on professional film sets as crew, and created an inclusive employment model which is now being adopted at top Australian production companies so more people with disability can be employed in the film industry.⁣
⁣
She's co-founder and former CEO of Bus Stop Films and recently started Mongolia’s first inclusive filmmaking program in partnership with the Arts Council of Mongolia in 2018. ⁣
⁣
Over a 10 year period she has produced over 30 inclusive films with over 300 people with intellectual disability. She's the series writer and director of SBS documentary mini series, ‘Perspective Shift’ and was named 2015 NSW Young Australian of the Year, and the 2019 National Telstra Business Woman Young Leader award winner.⁣

Rick has been in numerous TV series, films and web series since graduating from the National Theatre Drama School in 2005, including producing, writing and starring in his own short film in 2010, ‘When the Wind Changes’, which screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival as part of the Accelerator Director’s Program and picked up a number of awards in festivals around the world.

For many of you, Rick is best known (and loved) for his leading role as Jimmy Proudman in ‘Offspring’ for the Ten Network. He’s also managed to keep busy playing Daniel Piscioneri in ‘Beaconsfield’, the story of the mining disaster in Tasmania, and David Hookes in the highly acclaimed drama series ‘Howzat – The Kerry Packer Story’.

MC

With a career spanning over 35 years, Scott has made his mark as an award-winning director, actor, writer, and producer in TV, film, and theatre, both locally and internationally. Scott’s impressive credits include the internationally acclaimed reboot of Heartbreak High, where he reprised his iconic role of Peter Rivers, as well as his AACTA nominated feature film directorial debut, Darklands.