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South Australian Screen Awards 2025 Winners Announced

27 November 2025
(L-R) Mercury CEO Sarah Lancaster, ABC Radio Adelaide’s Deb Tribe, SAFC Head of First Nations Kirstie Parker, Suriyna Sivashanker, Kerry Heysen AM, photo by Kellie Jantke

The South Australian screen industry shone brightly at the 2025 South Australian Screen Awards (SASAs) last week, with winners announced at a gala awards ceremony at The Mercury Cinema on Saturday, 22 November 2025.

Celebrating the best screen works from South Australia’s film industry, the SASAs have run for over 20 years. The SASAs provide a vital platform for South Australian screen practitioners to showcase their work, recognising emerging talent and celebrating the people and projects created by the local screen industry.

This year cash and prizes worth over $30,000 were awarded as part of the ceremony, which recognised the work of more than 40 nominees across 27 categories, culminating in the Grand Jury Prize sponsored by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).

Leela Varghese’s short film I’m The Most Racist Person I Know, produced by Suriyna Sivashanker, was awarded the Grand Jury Prize as well as Best Directing and Best Music Composition for Leigh Marsh. The coveted Grand Jury Prize was decided by a Grand Jury of Kerry Heysen AM, ABC Radio Adelaide’s Deb Tribe and Guildhouse CEO Beth Neate.

I’m The Most Racist Person I Know was made through The Mercury’s Quicksilver program, supported by the SAFC, and premiered at SXSW in Austin, Texas, where it received the Special Jury Award in the Narrative Short Competition.

The SAFC also sponsored the Best Emerging First Nations Screen Practitioner award, which was presented by SAFC Head of First Nations Kirstie Parker to proud Yankunytjatjara woman Pearl Berry.

Pearl is an emerging writer and filmmaker with SAFC supported projects including Deadly Family Portraits – Sansbury Sisters (2019) and Black Empire (2022). She is also co-writer on The Debt, the third feature film to go into production for the Film Lab: New Voices feature film skills development program, an initiative co-funded by the SAFC, Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) and Screen Australia.

Many other SAFC supported productions and practitioners were among the winners.

Festival favourite and acclaimed SAFC and AFF supported animated comedy Lesbian Space Princess, from writer/directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese and producer Tom Phillips, was awarded Best Feature Film.

Best First Nations Work went to The Secret, directed by Lilla Berry and produced by Piri Eddy through the SAFC’s First Nations Short Film Initiative.

Emma Hough Hobbs receives the Best Feature Film Award, photo by Kellie Jantke
Lilla Berry receives the Best First Nations Work Award, photo by Kellie Jantke

Best Animation went to Wishes: Windows & Nests, directed by Ana María Méndez Salgado and produced by Carlos Manrique Clavijo and supported by the SAFC’s Matched Market Development Fund.

Two more Quicksilver shorts picked up accolades: The Hitcher was awarded Best Sound Design for Anthony Cavalieri and Best Cinematography by Emerson Hoskin, while Boy on Fire from director Alies Sluiter and producer William Littleton received Best Narrative Film.

The Mercury CEO Sarah Lancaster said: The Mercury was abuzz on Saturday night with the energy and enthusiasm of the next generation of South Australian screenmakers.

“The South Australian Screen Awards (SASAs) are about more than awards, they connect emerging creatives with the broader industry, spark opportunities, and showcase the extraordinary local talent both on and off screen. I’m proud of the role The Mercury and SASAs play in shaping careers and helping to shine a light on the bright future of the local screen industry,” she said.

The SAFC is proud to provide funding to The Mercury to support the emerging screen sector in South Australia through initiatives including the Quicksilver Production Funding Initiative, Launch Lab, and the SASAs.

The full list of 2025 SASA winners is:

Read more about the 2025 SASAs on The Mercury website.

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