The Outrun: Orkney-set film cast, release date, true story, who is the real Rona and where is she now?

In a strange unplanned piece of synchronicity the film was screened just a few minutes away from the theatre where the same story had been turned into a play at the Edinburgh International Festival.

The film is largely set in Orkney, where a woman returns home after being robbed of her life in London by alcoholism and addiction.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When will The Outrun be released?

The Outrun is set to be released in cinemas across the UK on Friday, September 27.

Who is in The Outrun?

Saoirse Ronan stars as the main character in the film. Other cast memebers are as follows:

• Saskia Reeves as Annie
• Stephen Dillane as Andrew
• Lauren Lyle as Julie
• Paapa Essiedu as Daynin
• Izuka Hoyle
• Eilidh Fisher as Evie
• Naomi Wirthner as Amanda
• Danyal Ismail as Pascal
• Posy Sterling as Rita
• Patch Bell
• Nabil Elouahabi as Samir
• Jack Rooke
• Seamus Dillane as James
• Conrad Williamson as Jack
• Tony Hamilton as Gary
• Ammar Younis as Aahil

Is The Outrun a true story?

The character of Rona is based on the life of writer Amy Liptrot - meaning The Outrun is largely a true story. Liptrot grew up on a farm in Orkney before living in London for ten years, where alcoholism and drug use saw her lose her home, her job and her boyfriend because of her alcoholism. She returned to Orkney to rehabilitate, where she wrote the book on which the film is based.

What is The Outrun?

The title of The Outrun comes from the name of a section of grazing land on Rona’s father’s arable farm in Orkney where several key moments in the book and the film take place.

What have the critics made of The Outrun?

The Outrun currently has a 76 per cent positive rating on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes from a total of 37 reviews. The Scotsman’s film critic Ali Harkness give it four stars, commenting: “Ultimately it reveals itself to be a character study of someone born of extremes; someone who almost can’t help but gravitate towards them. As the film cuts between Rona’s old and new life we see the extent to which they map each other and judicious use of voice-over finds a raft of life metaphors in nature and local folklore - selkies, jellyfish, crashing waves, the elusive corncrake - that help make sense of her recovery. But the film has no interest in pat resolution, building instead to a symphonic finale that captures the euphoria of a life once again filled with possibilities.”

Where was The Outrun filmed?

The Outrun was filmed on location in Orkney and London.

What happened to Rona/Amy after the end of the film?

Amy Liptrot’s book The Outrun was published in 2016 and was an instant commercial and critical success, winning the 2016 Wainwright Prize for the “best work of general outdoors, nature and UK-based travel writing” and the 2017 PEN/Ackerley Prize "for a literary autobiography of excellence”. She had a child in December 2018 and later moved to Berlin for a year, which she wrote about in the book The Instant. Liptrot has abstained from alcohol ever since the events portrayed in the film.