The Runt
a short film
written & directed by Christy Stratton
Like most 12-year-olds in 1979, Janet Bauer lives for Friday nights at the Moonlight Rollerway. This particular Friday is special – it’s the last one before junior high starts.
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When Janet finds out the 8th grade girls have chosen her to be the 7th grade “runt,” she decides she must skate with a boy to prove her maturity and avoid this fate, which would ruin her life forever.
Hello and welcome to The Runt's page!
Here's why I'm so excited to tell this story: as a generation, we Gen Xers had loads of independence but little confidence; we relied on ourselves but didn't believe in ourselves. Which is why it took me 25 years to do this short! As girls, we cared deeply about what others thought of us and were afraid to ask for what we wanted. In the end, the story is not about Janet skating with a boy, it's about her having the temerity to try. And although this short springs from my childhood spent at the roller rink, it is for any person who has faced a monster fear and overcome it.
XOXO,
Christy S.
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The Runt is a proof of concept for a full-length feature called Shoot the Duck, about a tween, a teen, and a single mom who all come of age one night in a roller rink in 1979.
Click Management below for more information.
Press
Dances With Films: LA Winners
From ‘Scum’ to Screenwriter, Christy Stratton’s Middle School Memories Inspire New Short Film ‘The Runt’
South Florida Insider Interview
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Christy Stratton Is Now Ready to Soar
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'Quiet on Set' featured writer dishes on Hollywood's 'jerkish behavior' as new film hits LA festival
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