Don vs Lightning
2021 · 13m · United Kingdom
Directed by Johnny Burns, Pier van Tijn
Tones: darkly comic, humorous
An elderly Scottish grump who has survived several freak lightning strikes worries that his quiet, orderly life may never be the same again.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A grumpy Scottish guy and lightning strikes—that's the pitch everyone passes on, which means Burns and van Tijn probably found something genuinely twisted underneath the obvious premise; I'm betting the film goes places the logline never hints at.
The deadpan Scottish temperament paired with cosmic absurdism sits somewhere between Ealing comedy and contemporary arthouse—there's a formal lineage at work here, a deliberate restraint in tone that elevates what could've been mere whimsy into something with real tonal control.
What catches here is likely the rhythm: how Burns and van Tijn pace the mundane against the surreal, probably through a single recurring edit or sound choice—the way lightning is *heard* rather than seen, or how the man's daily routine mirrors or breaks against each strike—that transforms a slim premise into something that genuinely lands.
Reviews
This is easily one of the most entertaining short films that I've seen in a long time. I had a smile on my face all the way through it and I hope that you get a kick out of it as well.
Festivals
- Palm Springs ShortFest 2021, Official selection