Somersault (2004)

"Somersault" is the story of a young girl's sensory journey through which she learns the true meaning of love, family and friendship. Living with her mother, sixteen year old Heidi (heart-wrenchingly played by Abbie Cornish in a breakthrough role) looks to short-lived sexual encounters for the physical and emotional contact she craves.

Fleeing Canberra for Jindabyne, she meets Joe (Sam Worthington), the son of a wealthy local farmer that leads to a developing romance in all its complexity. However Joe's relationship with Heidi challenges his ideas of sexuality, class and his future. Illuminated by the lives of others and the power of forgiveness, Heidi discovers she is more than she had realised. "Somersault" marks the important arrival of a gifted writer and director and a new voice in Australian filmmaking.