Australian screenwriter and director Cate Shortland's feature film debut which she wrote, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 57th Cannes International Film Festival in 2004, was shot on various locations in Australia and is an Australian production which was produced by producer Anthony Anderson and executive produced by Australian producer Jan Chapman. It tells the story about a 16-year-old girl named Heidi who lives in an apartment with her mother and her mother's boyfriend in Canberra, Australia. One morning after her mother discovers her boyfriend and Heidi kissing, an emotional confrontation occurs and winds up with Heidi running to the closest bus-station and taking the first available bus to Jindabyne where she tries to locate a friend. Heidi finds no traces of her friend and with no place to stay and only a small amount of money at her disposal she has to find a job and a place to live. By coincident she meets a local boy named Joe who is charmed by her and who takes her to a motel where they spend the night. The following day Heidi meets a woman named Irene who manages the motel and who after being told a lie by Heidi about her mother, lets her stay there until she finds herself a job. Heidi is getting settled in Jindabyne and her strong feelings for Joe are emerging, but her lies are catching up with her. Distinctly and acutely directed by Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland, this rhythmic fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws an intimate and incisive portrayal of a vulnerable and love-seeking sixteen-year-old who goes on a risky guilt-trip far from home and her relationship with a young man. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions, fine cinematography by cinematographer Robert Humphreys, editing by film editor Scott Gray and the brilliant use of sound, character-driven and profound independent film which examines themes like independence, self-discovery, family relations, interpersonal relations, love and alienation, contains a great score by Decoder Ring that emphasizes the protagonist's inner states and the poignant atmosphere.This somewhat enigmatic, romantic and consistently engaging drama which is like a poetic poem that reflects over the search for identity with subtle perspectives, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, the versatile and emotionally intricate acting performance by Australian actress Abbie Cornish and the substantial acting performance by Australian actor Sam Worthington. A memorable and tender study of character which gained, among numerous other awards, five FCCA Awards at the 14th Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards in 2004 and thirteen AFI Awards at the 44th Australian Film Institute Awards in 2004.

As the credit rolled to indicate the end of the movie on my TV I was feeling quite rewarded by this work. I had some memories of the title when it was on our big screens in Sydney but somehow did not go to see it despite some good reports as something rather special. Well it has been very special for me. I just read a few comments I as was curious how the rest of the English speaking world felt about it. I was glad to see some I found well expressed intelligent and positive . Others, well others, in a democratic world, are to be expected to be anything. In such forum we're all expert aren't we! Yes I did enjoy very much this effort, I always worry a little about typical Australian movies, but I found this one delivering something special as human experience and experiment, told simply but with strong statements. Told with plenty of time for the viewer to include her or himself in it and therefore think as if also concerned with the development of the situation. I was rather amused as the so called "kissing" episode that actually started the whole saga, am I really mistaking in thinking otherwise,more in the region of coitus interruptus. May be it's just me, but I did not think it was just kissing matter! And in this subject I wander why some comments bothered to describe the guy in a very derogatory manner, after all he was the mum's guy and whoever he would have been in this age range would not have mattered very much more. If you had a good meal but one more nice dish is served, would you pass on? I guess there are different answers to this but I'm thinking of the realistics and honest ones. Just the same the story often get you places but keeps away from the predictable or graphic outcomes. Yes it's full of beauty and poetry against the rough language and natural human environment. And I did like all this!

It's a sad and melancholic story about a teenage girl, HEIDI (played by Abbie Cornish), that after run away from her mother's place goes to a distant town to meet again a guy she once met in Canberra. But when she arrives there he doesn't remember her anymore. She feels lost, disoriented, but even so she will try to live by herself, going into the unknown, meeting new people, from place to place… HEIDI is courageous but also a bit reckless too, because she "gives herself" to other people without knowing who's on the other side… For a few times we hear her asking "- Can I go with you?" to guys she already met! But this character is strong, very strong indeed, because she resisted for several times to very bad incidents without looking back, without even think to return to her mother's home… This story is sad and melancholic but it also reveals the strength, the irreverence, the anger and the unconsciousness of the teenage years… It's a very touching story because of that. On one side it's slow, melancholic, almost depressing, but on the other we feel rage and unconformity.I really liked the plot, the characters and the settings, but I would like to give a special mention to the soundtrack. I think it's great! It combines very well those opposite feelings I did refer before, because it has very sad and melancholic tracks combined with rock and dance music tracks. And they're very well integrated in the plot as well.A good surprise from Australia!

Somersault heralds a turning point in Australian cinema. It is a lone voice amongst a jaded cacophony of authoritarian overtures which, since the introduction of celluloid to this island nation, have bullied more interesting and engaging topics into submission.This is a story of a girl's sexual awakening. Although a common European theme, it is anathema to heavy-handed antipodeans who are as comfortable with the sexuality of adolescent women as they are with their own esoteric sexual proclivities.Almost as if she were a blind woman, the central character Heidi, moves sensually through her world, a libidinal, though naïve, Haetera, causing disorder where the cool hand of repression had previously established a façade of normalcy.The disruption to the repressive environment of rural Australia causes a whirlwind of angst and violence to surround her.A fascinating, sensual, quintessentially Australian film that is the first, and only, to begin to acknowledge our sexuality. How fitting, then, that the central character is an ingénue! We have a long way to go. But, kudos, Cate Shortland. The only Australian film that represents anything like an authentic Australian experience. Bravo!