Exclusive: There’s an old saying that you should never work with children or animals Craig Silvey, author of children’s book Runt and producer of the new film adaptation, “can’t recommend it enough”.
“Lily [LaTorre] and Squid, who play Annie and Runt, were just beautiful to watch,” he told 9news.com.au.
“They were best of friends by the end of the shoot, and they were utter professionals in every way. From from the first moment to the last, I’ve just really adored working on this film.”
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Runt follows the story of Annie Shearer, a girl who enters her stray dog Runt in a prestigious dog show to save the family farm from drought in the fictional town of Upson Downs.
When the time came to find a real-life location to shoot at, York, a town about 97 kilometres outside of Perth, Western Australia, was at the top of Silvey’s list.
“We transformed York into the town of Upson Downs and the locals were up for it,” he said, “the enthusiasm and excitement out there was really infectious.”
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A historic town on Ballardong Nyoongar land, York’s main street Avon Terrace looks almost exactly as it did in 1911 and is surrounded by a patchwork of paddocks and towering gumtrees.
Gazing out at the landscape, it’s easy to see why Silvey and the Runt location scouts were so smitten, though filming around York in late 2023 did come with a few risks.
The production team hired local snake catcher Jyden Couzens to check every single filming location for snakes.
”He’d run through the set every day and ensure that there was nothing too bitey and venomous,” Silvey said.
One on particularly memorable day Couzens discovered a shingleback or ‘bobtail’ lizard, which he delightedly showed off to the crew.
“I took a few steps back to be honest with you, because I am terrified of all reptiles,” Silvey revealed.
“But our director loved it so much that he actually put it in the shot and it made the final cut.”
The lizard wasn’t the only local to make their big screen debut in Runt; 94 of the town’s 2300 locals played extras in the film, including Stacee Ross and daughters Dakoda, 11, and Shiloh, nine.
Ross manages the Castle Hotel in York, which dates back to the 1850s, where the Runt costume department set up shop in the restaurant area for about five weeks during filming.
”You applied to be extras and they’d call you up and ask if you were available at these times,” Ross told 9news.
“Then we all went down to costume and got our gear on. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
But that’s not exactly true in York anymore.
In the last 12 months, the town has hosted film crews for The Twelve‘s second season, Runt, and upcoming film Overture, quietly positioning itself as a TV and movie hotspot.
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Silvey described the people of York as being “up for an adventure”, but the truth is that projects like Runt bring a whole lot of cash and pride to the small town.
“We probably saw just over half a million dollars brought into the town directly from the movie over around five weeks,” Shire of York CEO Chris Linnell told 9news.
“They [Runt‘s cast and crew] stayed in town, they shopped local, they tried to get all their services and produce local if they could.”
Plenty of the cast and crew stayed at the Castle Hotel or Settlers House York, just two minutes down the road, for weeks during filming and local business owners welcomed the flood of people in October and November, which is usually their offseason.
“It’s definitely been a really big positive for our business and we’d love to see more filming here,” Settlers House general manager Stacey Slater told 9news.
Meanwhile, a local bookstore sold out of 300 copies of Runt when Silvey hosted a signing there. They’d expected 25 people to attend, but about 150 turned up.
“I feel very grateful and very appreciative that everyone really got behind us,” the author said.
To show his appreciation, Silvey vowed to return to York and host a preview screening of the film before it was released.
He made good on that promise on September 10 with two screenings at York’s historic Town Hall; one for the local kids delighted to see their town on the big screen, and a second for the wider community. A staggering 400 people showed up.
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“I haven’t had many prouder moments in my career,” Silvey confessed, then added, “I’m delighted that the locals are as proud of our film as we are of them.”
Runt was released in cinemas around Australia on September 19 and Silvey hopes the “persistently optimistic” film inspires more people to back the Australian screen industry.
As for the people of York, they want to see the town they love become “a film location of choice” for Australian productions, though Runt will always hold a special place as the first major movie filmed in town.
“I’m sure there’ll be grandparents one day telling their grandkids that they were in the movie,” Linnell said.
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