‘Somersault’ Trailer: Abbie Cornish & Sam Worthington Star In Cate Shortland’s 4K-Restored Debut, In Theaters February 20 [Exclusive]

There’s a specific kind of early-career electricity you can feel in certain debut features—the moment when a filmmaker’s voice arrives fully formed, and the cast looks like stars in the making. “Somersault” is one of those films, and now The Playlist can exclusively share the trailer for its newly restored 4K re-release, which will open theatrically on February 20, 2026.

The feature-length filmmaking debut of writer/director Cate Shortland, the 2004 Australian drama was a breakthrough calling card that helped place Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington on the map—years before Shortland went on to direct “Black Widow” and prior to Worthington landing the lead role in James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

Set against the cold, crystalline quiet of Jindabyne, New South Wales, in Australia, the film follows teenage Heidi (Cornish) after a reckless encounter with her mother’s boyfriend left her scrambling for a restart. She runs, landing at a motel in the ski town, where she picks up work at a petrol station. She finds a fragile lifeline in her co-worker, Bianca (Hollie Andrew), and in Joe (Worthington), a young man carrying his own bruised interior. The relationship that forms isn’t a rescue fantasy; it’s two lost people trying to assemble something like normalcy in a place where loneliness echoes louder.

That mood—ached, wary, strangely tender and evocative of Sofia Coppola—was part of why the film made an international splash, earning selection in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2004 (and also a Caméra d’Or nominee with terrific cinematography from Robert Humphreys, not to mention). And critics responded to its mix of rawness and restraint, also noting how Sydney band Decoder Ring’s excellent electronic-y dream pop score threaded through the film’s anxious pulse.

The new version arrives via Film Movement Classics, with the film restored in 4K by Piccolo Films from the original 35mm master negative and final mix master audio components; the restoration was led by Ray Argall in consultation with key creatives, including Shortland and producer Anthony Anderson.

As for the rollout, Film Movement has set a U.S. theatrical date of February 20, 2026, with an at-home date of March 27, 2026. Metrograph in New York City will kick things off with an opening engagement on February 20.

If you missed the film the first time around—or only knew it by reputation as the launchpad for its director and stars—this restoration is perfectly positioned as a clean, cinema-first way back into its winter hush and emotional bruises.

And not for nothing? It’s a revelation for Worthington—still his best on-screen appearance to date—but especially Cornish. The Aussie actress has seemingly moved away from movies for the most part, choosing to focus on a rap and singing career, but watching her in “Somersault,” she’s all there, fully formed, gorgeous, a revelation to behold.

Watch the restored trailer for “Somersault” below.