The AIDC Southern Light Award celebrates luminaries of the Australian documentary and factual industry.
Expanding the eligibility scope of the pre-existing Stanley Hawes Award, presented from 1997 – 2023, the AIDC Southern Light Award is a $5,000 cash prize presented by AIDC to an Australian industry professional for their outstanding contribution to nonfiction screen, digital and/or audio media.
The recipient of the Southern Light Award receives a $5,000 cash prize from AIDC and will be invited to speak at the AIDC Awards Presentation on Thursday 5 March 2026.
The Southern Light Award complements six other category awards that are part of the AIDC Awards.
Karla Hart
Filmmaker, Karla Hart Productions
Karla Hart is one of Australia’s most influential First Nations screen practitioners – a Noongar filmmaker, producer and cultural leader whose work has fundamentally reshaped nonfiction and narrative storytelling on national platforms. Named Aboriginal West Australian of the Year, she is also a two-time Perth NAIDOC Artist of the Year, recipient of the ImagineNATIVE International Award, multiple Performing Arts Awards, a National Deadly Award and the CinefestOZ Award.
As founder of Karla Hart Productions, she has spent more than a decade delivering premium television, major cultural events and community-driven screen projects. Karla has created over 140 episodes of broadcast television as a producer, writer and director, including Our Medicine, Yokayi Footy, Family Rules, On Country Kitchen, Mamma’s on a Mission and The Return – Stuff the British Stole.
Her creative slate spans ambitious factual, drama and immersive work – from game Broken Roads to her forthcoming series Saltwater Cowboys, which enters production next month – and she is currently in development on her first feature film, Moodja.
Across every project, Karla champions First Nations creative leadership and community authority on screen – building Indigenous workforce capacity while redefining what Australian storytelling looks like at the highest level.
Simon Nasht
Managing Director, Smith&Nasht
Filmmaker Simon Nasht is a passionate advocate on behalf of the documentary craft. He has worked all over the world, helping to create hundreds of hours of nonfiction films and running successful production companies.
He began his career in journalism, first at his hometown newspaper, The Age in Melbourne, before joining the ABC and SBS, reporting current affairs from Canberra. This was followed by a stint presenting the popular science series Beyond 2000.
After 20 years producing and teaching in the UK and Europe, he returned to Australia to start Smith&Nasht, a collaboration with Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist Dick Smith. The company has created many groundbreaking films, including Frackman, The Children In The Pictures and I Can Change Your Mind about Climate, all released in conjunction with extensive impact campaigns.
Simon has written best-selling nonfiction books, been a visiting lecturer at leading film schools, sat on the board of Screen Tasmania and in recent years has been a strong voice on behalf of documentary in the wider screen industry, among policy makers and the media.
2025 – Celia Tait
Co-founder and managing director of Artemis Media, based in Fremantle, Western Australia, and producer of high impact factual TV for domestic and international networks for over 25 years.
2024 – Karina Holden
Head of Factual at Northern Pictures, and key creative and executive on breakout series such as Love on the Spectrum, Employable Me, and Go Back to Where You Came From.