Cate Shortland

Directing

Cate Shortland

Born

1968-08-10 (58)

Place of birth

Temora, New South Wales, Australia

Known for

Directing

Credits

17 titles

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. 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. 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 th…

Known for

Series credits

Behind the camera

Black Widow poster
7.1

Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

Black Widow

2021

Berlin Syndrome poster
6.0

A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship when an Australian photojournalist wakes one morning in an abandoned Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.

Berlin Syndrome

2017

Lore poster
6.7

After being abandoned by their Nazi parents at the end of World War II, five German siblings embark on a harrowing journey across their war-torn country. Led by the eldest, 14 year-old Lore, the children are forced to confront their parents’ actions and the reality of a new world.

Lore

2012

Lore poster
6.7

After being abandoned by their Nazi parents at the end of World War II, five German siblings embark on a harrowing journey across their war-torn country. Led by the eldest, 14 year-old Lore, the children are forced to confront their parents’ actions and the reality of a new world.

Lore

2012

Joy poster
9.0

An adolescent girl's journey of self-discovery set in the garish twilight world of Sydney's late night shopping malls and rooftops.

Joy

2000

Joy poster
9.0

An adolescent girl's journey of self-discovery set in the garish twilight world of Sydney's late night shopping malls and rooftops.

Joy

2000

Somersault poster
6.3

Australian teenager Heidi is left with little choice but to leave home after she's caught red-handed with her mother's boyfriend. With few options, Heidi ends up in Jindabyne, a tourist community. Upon meeting Joe at a bar, she pursues a relationship with him and tries to find something resembling a normal home life. Heidi makes small strides by getting a job and finding a place to stay, but her relationship with Joe must overcome more than its share of hurdles.

Somersault

2004

Somersault poster
6.3

Australian teenager Heidi is left with little choice but to leave home after she's caught red-handed with her mother's boyfriend. With few options, Heidi ends up in Jindabyne, a tourist community. Upon meeting Joe at a bar, she pursues a relationship with him and tries to find something resembling a normal home life. Heidi makes small strides by getting a job and finding a place to stay, but her relationship with Joe must overcome more than its share of hurdles.

Somersault

2004

The Silence poster
6.3

A police officer reassigned to curate a photography exhibition finds links between a series of murders.

The Silence

2006

Strap on Olympia poster
NR

Olympia's journey continues. Men expect youth, beautiful bodies and sex partners from women. Thinking this, Olympia takes advantage of her young and beautiful body to sign a mistress contract with a rich but vulgar old man. However, something arises inside her that she cannot resist, so she breaks the contract and sets off on a journey. On her journey, she also encounters men who look at her as if they value her. She sets up her own extreme show to strike back at these men. But how much of it was reality and how much of it was her fantasy... From the fantastic intro, a world of beauty supported by a strong sense of style unfolds. The strength of the visuals gives the simple story a fullness.

Strap on Olympia

1995

Strap on Olympia poster
NR

Olympia's journey continues. Men expect youth, beautiful bodies and sex partners from women. Thinking this, Olympia takes advantage of her young and beautiful body to sign a mistress contract with a rich but vulgar old man. However, something arises inside her that she cannot resist, so she breaks the contract and sets off on a journey. On her journey, she also encounters men who look at her as if they value her. She sets up her own extreme show to strike back at these men. But how much of it was reality and how much of it was her fantasy... From the fantastic intro, a world of beauty supported by a strong sense of style unfolds. The strength of the visuals gives the simple story a fullness.

Strap on Olympia

1995

Flowergirl poster
5.7

Daisuke, Hana and Tetsu are three young Japanese sharing an apartment at Bondi Beach in Sydney. After a year of carefree living, Daisuke has to return to Osaka to work in his father's butcher shop. He is secretly in love with his flatmate Hana. A lyrical vignette of final days and home videos.

Flowergirl

1999

Flowergirl poster
5.7

Daisuke, Hana and Tetsu are three young Japanese sharing an apartment at Bondi Beach in Sydney. After a year of carefree living, Daisuke has to return to Osaka to work in his father's butcher shop. He is secretly in love with his flatmate Hana. A lyrical vignette of final days and home videos.

Flowergirl

1999

Pentuphouse poster
8.0

Della, a 45-year-old wanna-be, coulda-been jazz singer and her lover, Dale, a 23 year old small time criminal, are in the final stages of their dysfunctional relationship.

Pentuphouse

1998

Pentuphouse poster
8.0

Della, a 45-year-old wanna-be, coulda-been jazz singer and her lover, Dale, a 23 year old small time criminal, are in the final stages of their dysfunctional relationship.

Pentuphouse

1998