Marvel’s Black Widow director, Cate Shortland, Talks Somersault on SOUNDS OF FIlM

Filmmaker Cate Shortland, known to many audiences for directing Marvel’s Black Widow, first drew international attention with her debut feature Somersault. In this episode of The Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham welcomes Shortland to discuss the newly restored 4K release of the film, a visually haunting and emotionally intimate coming-of-age story set in the snowy landscapes of Australia. The film stars Abbie Cornish in a breakthrough role as Heidi, a vulnerable teenager searching for connection and belonging, alongside Sam Worthington in one of his earliest major screen performances.

Set in the resort town of Jindabyne, Somersault explores themes of loneliness, desire, and the complicated path toward self-understanding. The stark winter setting and naturalistic style helped establish Shortland as a filmmaker with a distinctive visual voice and a deep sensitivity to character. The film remains an important early work in Australian cinema of the 2000s and marked the arrival of a director whose career would go on to span both intimate dramas and large-scale international productions.

The Sounds of Film with Tom Needham is a long-running podcast and radio show devoted to conversations with the creative artists behind movies and television. Past guests have included John Turturro, William H. Macy, Alexander Payne, Wallace Shawn, Ralph Macchio, Laurie Anderson, Chuck D, D. A. Pennebaker, Howard Shore, and Thora Birch, reflecting the show’s wide-ranging focus on the many voices who shape the art of film.