The Village Roadshow Prize for Screen Writing: Winner 2004

Judges report

Somersault by Cate Shortland (Red Carpet Productions)

Cate Shortland’s contemporary drama set in the alpine region of Australia is a powerfully told story about a young girl, Heidi, adrift and searching for a place to belong. Heidi leaves home in Canberra following a misunderstanding with her mother and her mother’s lover, and finds herself in the town of Jindabyne. There she meets up with a local boy, Joe, and a passionate attachment develops, but is quickly shaken sideways with frustration and confusion, with Heidi never sure of the difference between friendship, love and sex; while Joe finds it hard to cross the social barrier and even harder to grasp a sense of his own identity. The dialogue is raw and accurate and we never for a moment doubt that the characters are real and allowing us an insight into the mechanics of the heart and soul.