Cate Shortland


Cate Shortland 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.

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 ; Pentuphouse ; Flower Girl ; and Joy.
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, which was entered in the Un Certain Regard 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. 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.
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. The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
In July 2018, Shortland was announced as the director of the 2021 Black Widow film for Marvel Studios.

Personal life

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

Filmography

Short film
YearTitleDirectorWriter
1998Pentuphouse
1999Flowergirl
2000Joy

Feature film
YearTitleDirectorWriter
2004Somersault
2012Lore
2017Berlin Syndrome
2021Black Widow

Television
YearTitleDirectorWriterNotes
2001–2003The Secret Life of Us10 episodes
2002–2003Bad Cop, Bad Cop4 episodes
2006The SilenceTV movie
2012The SlapEpisode "Rosie"
2014Devil's PlaygroundEpisode "The Whirlwind and the Storm"
2015Deadline GallipoliEpisode 2
2016The Kettering IncidentTeleplay for episode "The Search"
Additional material for episode "The Mill"
2019SMILF4 episodes
2024Three WomenEpisode 4: "Maggie"

Awards and nominations