Face 2 Face With David Peck

Imogen Thomas and David Peck talk about her new film Emu Runner, social realism, loss and grief, challenging stereotypes, intergenerational trauma, taking more time for others and indigenous rights and cultures in Australia. TrailerEmu Runner is a story about a nine-year-old Indigenous girl, Gem Daniels, who lives in a remote Australian town. As she copes with her mother’s unexpected death, Gem finds solace in the company of a wild emu, unwittingly connecting with her mother’s traditional totem animal. Gem’s obsessive attachment to the emu leads her down a troubled path as she feeds it her school lunches and begins to steal extra food for it. As she spends more and more time with the emu, Gem skips school, attracting the attention of a new social worker in town, Heidi, who is convinced Gem’s family is failing to look after her. In nature the male emu takes on the role of rearing the chicks. With the death of his wife, Gem’s father Jay Jay is left to raise Gem, her 15-yearold sister Valerie and her 17-year-old