Cate Shortland (born 10 August 1968) is an Australian director and screenwriter. She received international acclaim for her 2004 romantic drama film ''

Somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatics, acrobatic exercise in which a person's body Rotation#Sports, rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the Human head, head. A somersau ...

'', her 2012 historical drama film '' Lore'', and her 2017 psychological thriller film '' Berlin Syndrome''. She is best known for directing the 2021 superhero film '' Black Widow''.

Early life

Shortland was born in Temora, New South Wales. She graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, where she received the Southern Star Award for most promising student.

Career

Shortland has created several award-winning short films: ''Strap on Olympia'' (1995); ''Pentuphouse'' (1998); ''Flower Girl'' (2000); and ''Joy'' (2000). She spent three years directing episodes of the

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

television series, '' The Secret Life of Us''. In 2004, Shortland released her debut feature-length film, ''

'' (2004), which was entered in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. She directed the Australian television film '' The Silence''. Her second feature, '' Lore'', had its Australian premiere at the 2012

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. , the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

. It won at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

in August 2012 the ''Prix du Public UBS''. In November, the film won the Bronze Horse for best film at the

Stockholm International Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival () is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November, and focuses on emerging and early career fil ...

. The film was selected as the Australian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the

85th Academy Awards The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p ...

, but it did not make the final shortlist. In 2015, Shortland announced she was working on a third feature film, '' Berlin Syndrome''. Based on the book of the same name by Melanie Joosten, the film starred Teresa Palmer as an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

photojournalist who becomes imprisoned in the apartment of a man with whom she has a one-night stand. The film premiered at the 2017

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. In July 2018, Shortland was announced as the director of the 2021 '' Black Widow'' film for

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

Personal life

Shortland is a convert to Judaism. She married filmmaker Tony Krawitz in 2009, and they have two children.

Filmography

Short film Feature film Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Cate Shortland's Agent
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shortland, Cate 1968 births Living people Australian film directors Australian television directors Australian screenwriters Converts to Judaism Australian Jews Australian women film directors Australian women screenwriters People from the Riverina Australian women television directors