Cate Shortland (born 10 August 1968) is an Australian director and screenwriter. She received international acclaim for her 2004 romantic drama film Somersault, 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.
Nov 30 2016Early 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 television series, The Secret Life of Us.
In 2004, Shortland released her debut feature-length film, Somersault (2004), which was entered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.1 She directed the Australian television film The Silence.2
Her second feature, Lore, had its Australian premiere at the 2012 Sydney Film Festival.3 It won at the Locarno International Film Festival 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 film was selected as the Australian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.45
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 photojournalist who becomes imprisoned in the apartment of a man with whom she has a one-night stand.6 The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.7
In July 2018, Shortland was announced as the director of the 2021 Black Widow film for Marvel Studios.8
Personal life
Shortland is a convert to Judaism.9 She married filmmaker Tony Krawitz in 2009,10 and they have two children.11
Filmography
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Pentuphouse | Yes | Yes |
| 1999 | Flowergirl | Yes | Yes |
| 2000 | Joy | Yes | Yes |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Somersault | Yes | Yes |
| 2012 | Lore | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 | Berlin Syndrome | Yes | Additional |
| 2021 | Black Widow | Yes | No |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2003 | The Secret Life of Us | Yes | No | 10 episodes |
| 2002–2003 | Bad Cop, Bad Cop | Yes | No | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | The Silence | Yes | No | TV movie |
| 2012 | The Slap | No | Yes | Episode "Rosie" |
| 2014 | Devil's Playground | No | Yes | Episode "The Whirlwind and the Storm" |
| 2015 | Deadline Gallipoli | No | Yes | Episode 2 |
| 2016 | The Kettering Incident | No | Yes | Teleplay for episode "The Search"Additional material for episode "The Mill" |
| 2019 | SMILF | Yes | No | 4 episodes |
| 2024 | Three Women | Yes | No | Episode 4: "Maggie" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Somersault | AACTA Award for Best DirectionAACTA Award for Best Original ScreenplayAWGIE Award for Best Writing in a Feature Film - OriginalFCCA Award for Best DirectorInside Film Award for Best Feature FilmInside Film Award for Best DirectionInside Film Award for Best ScriptLjubljana International Film Festival Kingfisher AwardMiami International Film Festival Special Jury Award for Breakthrough DirectorMiami International Film Festival Special Mention Breakthrough AwardNominated — Cannes Film Festival - Golden CameraNominated — Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard AwardNominated — FCCA Award for Best Original ScreenplayNominated — Tokyo International Film Festival Grand Prix |
| 2006 | The Silence | Australian Screen Sound Guild award for Best Achievement in Sound for a Tele-Feature or Mini-SeriesNominated — AFI Award for Best Telefeature or Mini SeriesNominated — the 2007 Logie Awards for Silver Logie in Most Outstanding Drama Series, Miniseries or Telemovie. |
| 2012 | Lore | Abu Dhabi Film Festival - Black Pearl Award for Best Narrative FeatureADG Award for Best Direction in a Feature FilmAFCA Award for Best DirectorAFCA Award for Best ScreenplayAWGIE Award for Best Writing in a Feature Film - AdaptedBeijing International Film Festival Tiantian Award for Best DirectorBeijing College Student Film Festival Special Jury AwardFCCA Award for Best DirectorFilmfest Hamburg Critics AwardHamptons International Film Festival - Golden Starfish AwardLocarno Festival - Audience AwardStockholm International Film Festival - Bronze Horse for Best FilmTromsø International Film Festival - Aurora AwardValladolid International Film Festival - Pilar Miró Award for Best New DirectorNominated — AACTA Award for Best DirectionNominated — AACTA Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated — Asia-Pacific Film Festival Award for Best DirectorNominated — Beijing International Film Festival Tiantian Award for Best DirectorNominated — BFI London Film FestivalNominated — FCCA Award for Best ScreenplayNominated — Locarno Festival - Audience AwardNominated — Sydney Film Festival PrizeNominated — Thessaloniki International Film Festival - Open Horizons AwardNominated — Valladolid International Film Festival - Golden Spike for Best Film |
| 2017 | Berlin Syndrome | Nominated — AACTA Award for Best DirectionNominated — Dallas International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize - Narrative Feature CompetitionNominated — Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize - World Cinema — Dramatic |
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cate Shortland.References
"Festival de Cannes: Somersault". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 3 December 2009. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4199808/year/2004.html ↩
"The Silence". Screen Australia. https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/the-silence-2005/20975?stxt=the%20silence¥d=2018 ↩
"Lore", Sydney Film Festival 2012 Archived 15 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine accessed 9 June 2012 http://sff.org.au/public/films/program/films-a-z/lore/ ↩
"Australian film Lore up for an Oscar". Vogue. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120909013815/http://www.vogue.com.au/culture/art/australian+film+lore+up+for+an+oscar,19719 ↩
Rohter, Larry (4 February 2013). "Viewing the Nazis Through Their Children's Eyes". The New York Times. https://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/viewing-the-nazis-through-their-childrens-eyes/ ↩
Jagernauth, Kevin. "Teresa Palmer To Lead Cate Shortland's 'Berlin Syndrome'". Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151019234038/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/teresa-palmer-to-lead-cate-shortlands-berlin-syndrome-20150515 ↩
Debruge, Peter (30 November 2016). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2017 Competition, Next Lineups". Variety. Retrieved 1 December 2016. https://variety.com/2016/film/news/sundance-film-festival-2017-movies-lineup-dramatic-competition-next-documentary-1201929581/ ↩
Kit, Borys (12 July 2018). "'Black Widow' Movie Finds Director in Cate Shortland (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-widow-movie-be-directed-by-cate-shortland-1126708 ↩
"Staring at the scars". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 September 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160203123032/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/staring-at-the-scars-20120907-25izf.html ↩
George, Sandy (21 September 2012). "Take Two: Cate Shortland and Tony Krawitz". If Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170212000519/http://if.com.au/2012/09/21/article/Take-Two-Cate-Shortland-and-Tony-Krawitz/WHHEDPDDMI.html ↩
Tinkham, Chris (22 March 2013). "Cate Shortland Building From the Details". Under the Radar. http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/cate_shortland/ ↩