Our judging panel each year features a wealth of industry talent and experience. The panel will watch the twelve films alongside the audience and deliberate once the last film has finished.

The panel in 2025 featured actor Darren Gilshenan, writer/director Madeleine Dyer, director Glendyn Ivin, returning winning filmmaker Annelise Hickey, author/screenwriter Christian White and production designer Leah Popple.

Prizes are awarded for a variety of categories - for cinematographyAt our festival, we celebrate excellence across key areas of filmmaking. Awards include Best Film, recognising outstanding storytelling; Best Cinematography, honouring visual artistry; and Best Performance, highlighting remarkable acting. We also present the Rising Star Award to emerging talent and the Audience Choice Award, voted by viewers. In addition, Best Production Design is awarded for exceptional creativity in crafting the film’s world.

The stunning trophies are individually hand-blown by local artist Leisa Wharington.

Unlike most short film festivals, Stellar is invite-only. Invitations are sent out to all Australian films that have either won an award or received significant critical acclaim in the past year at an Australian film festival, to form the long list. Of those films, a final twelve are selected for screening at the event.