Directed by Leela Varghese

When Lali unexpectedly ends up on a date with another woman of colour for the first time, it unravels prejudices she has long ignored. (13min)

Directed by Sam Ferris Bryant

Following a shark attack, Marcia comes back to life with something wild inside her, testing her doting fiancee Frank as they take to the road in his mustang. Based on the true story of Sydney Harbour’s fatal shark attack in 1963. (16min)

Directed by David Robinson Smith

WINNER Best Film

WINNER Rising Star (Eden Wendt)

A dark fairy tale about two brothers who re-live a strange encounter with a man on Christmas Day, their memories shifting until the truth becomes something unknowable-something that quietly, irrevocably changes them. (9min)

Directed by Monty O’Brien and Lily Stewart

After a clash with his older brother, Connor joins his younger sibling and friends on a wild night, forcing him to confront family duty versus his dreams. (15min)

Directed by Damian Walshe-Howling

WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE (Goran Grgic)

WINNER Audience Choice

WINNER Production Design (Gareth Davies)

1979. As volatile protests break out across the city of Sydney, Croatian born Marina is forced to expose a secretive love affair with her Australian boyfriend, as an escalating political storm spills into her childhood home with devastating consequences. (20min)

Directed by Nash Edgerton

A young girl thinks a man in the candy bar line looks like her dad. Their sweet interaction makes him long for fatherhood. (6min)

Directed by David Ferrier

WINNER Best Screenplay

A man discovers he is physically shrinking. With the help of his wife, they navigate life's ups and downs with increasing creativity and adaptability. (7min)

Directed by Annelise Hickey

WINNER Best Cinematography (Matthew Chuang)

When Adam, a self absorbed and lonely millennial, wakes to find his estranged half-brother on his doorstep one morning, he must face the family he’s been running away from. (15min)

Directed by Ashley Zukerman

An Uber driver finds himself helping a private school kid with a paper route while trying to get a refund for a washing machine that he says never arrived. (16min)

Directed by Marcus Porcaro and Jack Byrnes

Grieving the loss of his brother, a paraplegic ex-defence contractor must fight tooth and nail when his workplace is invaded by masked intruders intent on killing him for the mysterious information they believe is in his possession. (14min)

Directed by Anna Phillips and Duncan Ragg

WINNER Special Mention Award (James Carey)

A father must confront his apathy towards the world’s big issues when his son, who is terrified of open water, steals his boat and refuses to come back to shore until his Dad has saved the world. (18min)

Directed by Tony Gardiner

After a bizarre mishap hanging a picture frame in her apartment, a young woman runs to check on her neighbour, inadvertently entering a life-or-death situation. (12min)

JUDGE

Ana Kokkinos is an award-winning screenwriter, director and producer whose films — including Head On and The Book of Revelation — have screened at Venice, Cannes and Toronto, earning more than 30 international awards. Her television work includes The Secret Life of Us and Ten Pound Poms. Ana brings bold vision and decades of storytelling excellence to Stellar.

JUDGE

Tai Hara is a highly regarded Australian actor and filmmaker best known for Colin From Accounts, Return to Paradise and Home and Away. His performance in Return to Paradise earned a Silver Logie nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama. Co-founder of Bag of Marbles, Tai brings versatility and industry perspective to the Stellar panel.

JUDGE

Tony Briggs is a proud Yorta Yorta and Wurundjeri descendant and acclaimed screen creative. He is the creator of The Sapphires, which won two Helpmann Awards and inspired the Cannes-premiering feature that earned 11 AACTA Awards. Founder of the Birrarangga Film Festival, Tony brings extraordinary depth of experience across acting, writing, directing and producing to the Stellar panel.

JUDGE

Nina Oyama is an award-winning writer, director and comedian known for Taskmaster Australia, Deadloch and Utopia. She is co-creator of the AACTA Award-winning SBS series Latecomers and an AWGIE winner for her work on Koala Man. A celebrated stand-up performer, Nina brings sharp insight and creative intelligence to the Stellar judging panel.

JUDGE

Pernell is a multi-award-winning filmmaker and Stellar alum whose short film The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste premiered at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival, winning the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director. The film also received Best Film and Best Production Design at Stellar. Working across Australia and the UK, she is currently developing her debut feature.

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.

HOST

Jackson’s journey in entertainment began with the 2014 ABC sketch series THIS IS LITTLETON. Since then, he’s graced screens worldwide, from DEADLOCH on PrimeVideo to THE NEWSREADER on ABC, MR INBETWEEN on FX, and FIVE BEDROOMS on Paramount+. His AACTA-nominated short film “HATCHBACK” is a Stellar favorite.

In 2023, Jackson shared the screen with Hollywood stars John Cena and Zac Efron in Peter Farrelly’s upcoming comedy feature, RICKY STANICKY, set for an early release in 2024.

But Jackson is more than an actor; he’s a talented writer and director, known for award-winning short films like UBER X-CITING DAY (Peninsula Film Festival: Best Screenplay) and THE DIVORCE (Hollywood Indie Film Awards: Best Comedy, Best Screenplay) and a genuinely good human.