Craig Silvey’s beloved best-selling novel leaps onto the big screen in a charming new Australian family movie. Runt is the heartfelt and hilarious tale of eleven-year-old Annie Shearer and her best friend Runt, an adopted stray dog with remarkable abilities. In a bid to save their family farm, the two aspire to compete in the Agility Course Championships at the prestigious Krumpets Dog Show in London, whilst overcoming hurdles, obstacles and nefarious villains.
As Runt prepares to leap in to Australian cinemas for the school holidays, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the film’s writer, author and screenwriter Craig Silvey (Jasper Jones), about the writing a screenplay and novel simultaneously, the true stories that inspired the film, and seeing his characters come to life on the big screen.
Nick: I was so fascinated to find out that you wrote the story of Runt both as a screenplay and manuscript for a book. What was that creative process like for you as a writer?
Craig Silvey: Fortunately, both projects complemented each other. I’m not sure if anyone else works this way, I’m unqualified to write for page and screen! I started this project knowing it would lend itself to the screen, but I also wanted to expand upon it and build it as a manuscript. So, I started writing a very detail treatment which was structured in the way a film might be but written in a prose style. It was a real mongrel document, which I guess works for a movie called Runt!
I used that as a platform to adapt both disciplines, to implant ideas into the screenplay and then use that as a platform to build further for the manuscripts. In between drafts on the screenplay, I was able to dip back into the broader world that I had created in the manuscript and use that to infuse it with more character, more life and just more authority. It’s an unusual way to work. I don’t know if anyone else is stupid enough to attempt this, but here we are!
Nick: Well, stupid is one way to put it. I think some might say “incredible!” Runt explores themes of community, family, and the importance of kindness in humanity. What was the journey like for you in exploring those themes through the eyes of a child protagonist, but also in a way that doesn’t pander or speak down to the younger audience?
Craig Silvey: Those elements are anchored in Annie. She’s a self-contained character. She’s persistent, determined, honest, true to herself, compassionate. She has her quirks, but she leans into those.
But what I find fascinating about Annie is that she begins our story as a character who is solitary by nature, and maybe marginalised in her community. But just through the simple force of being herself, and caring about other people, and being so honest, she actually inspires people in her orbit to be true to themselves.
Typically, in narratives, particularly for children, you see a main character go through a significant change. But Annie is persistently herself, and it’s the people around her that are inspired to change. That’s what I find really beautiful about her story.
Nick: What was that moment like when you saw Lily LaTorre on screen as Annie? What were characteristics of Lily that you noticed immediately that we similar to the character you had created?
Craig Silvey: You know, there is a way that certain people can just ignite on a monitor. Some people just have that presence. It’s absolutely something you can’t teach, it’s something you have, or you don’t. And Lily has it. She is a star. She is a raw talent. She’s generous, giving, and just so present in the moment, which is rare.
We saw her work, and we met her, and we just knew that she was Annie Shearer. She carried this film. A nine-year-old had the narrative on her shoulders, and she was extraordinary. She’s unbelievable.
She also had a really close bond with Squid [the dog in the film]. I’m sure a lot of that was treat based, I’ll be honest with you. She was very much the depository of snacks, and I’m sure that influenced Squid a lot. But, by then end of the shoot, they were just deeply in love, and it was a beautiful thing to see.
Nick: I read that you grew up in a regional town. How much of your own childhood experiences inspired setting Runt in a regional, Western Australian town?
Craig Silvey: Certainly the landscape and the idiosyncrasies of community in that aspect. But for me, growing up in those regions, it was the pressure that a lot of families face out there. Keeping a roof over your head was very real. And you know, I identify with Annie’s anxiety and concerns very directly.
I remember, late one night, my mother was on her old calculating machine, and I could see her stressing about it. And I wanted to help out. And I didn’t have a best friend called Runt. I didn’t have the resolute optimism of Annie Shearer.
I suppose, maybe, there’s a bit of revisionist history in the story. Something about maybe wanting to go back in time and be the better person. But kids carry the weight of their family struggles, and sometimes I think we forget how perceptive they can be. Annie Shearer certainly embodies that.
I think this is something that Australian families really resonate with at the moment. Not just in the regions. There’s a lot of concern and anxiety about the family home at the moment. So, what we’re trying to do first and foremost is provide some comfort and hope. And if the responses thus far have been any indication, we’re providing that.
Thank you so much to Craig for taking the time to chat, and thank you to StudioCanal and Think Tank Communications for organising the interview. Runt is opening in Queensland cinemas on September 12, and all other Australian states and territories on September 19.
