Stef Harris

Stef Harris (aka Stefan Lewis) faced off against Peter Jackson in a Spot On short film contest as a teenager. In 2006 Harris hired a small crew and turned his first novel into awardwinning mockumentary The Waimate Conspiracy. The longtime policeman followed it with small-town vs big business tale No Petrol, No Diesel! After winning a 2007 scholarship, he was mentored in the US by Kiwi-born director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). Set in a petrol station, his iPhone-shot thriller Blue Moon won multiple awards at international festivals. In 2025 Harris directed short film Sister Josephine, and began preparing his fourth feature.

I agonised over the decision long and hard before taking the risk of directing it myself . . . It seemed that everyone involved knew more about film than I did but I kept telling myself I knew more about this film than anyone else. I knew if it was a failure there was no-one else to blame. Stef Harris on his award-winning first film The Waimate Conspiracy, Onfilm magazine