DON VS LIGHTNING
DIRECTED BY BIG RED BUTTON
UNITED KINGDOM // 2021
13 MINS
When Don, an elderly Scottish grump, finds himself the victim of multiple lightning strikes he can't decide what's worse: sadistic persecution by a capricious universe or all the unwanted attention from his neighbours.
Reflective Encounters
“Man makes plans... and God laughs, wrote the author Michael Chabon. Don Vs Lightning is a gentle reminder (well, if you’re being struck by lightning multiple times, maybe not so gentle) of this as our titular character is denied the chance to live the quiet life he’s looking for. While the film plies its trade in absurdity – namely Don being repeatedly struck by lightning – there’s also an underlying streak of existential angst that adds some meat to the comedic bones of the film.
While director Big Red Button – erm – presses all the right buttons, making fine use of the majestic Highland surroundings that add a tinge of the grandiose to everything, much of the film’s success is also due to the wonderful performances by Peter Mullan and Joanna Scanlon. While Mullen has made a career out of darker roles, he’s a fine comic actor and indulges in some great moments of slapstick while Scalon is as subtly brilliant as she always is.
So if you do feel that God is laughing at you, then maybe you should laugh back. If nothing else, you might get a toastie out of it.”
— Laurence Boyce
Filmmaker Bio
Big Red Button is the name Johnny Burns and Pier van Tijn adopt when they team up to fight crime or make films. They've been writing and directing comedy together since 2004, when they met as crew on the set of a terrible feature film and decided they could do better. The jury is still out on that one.
Their style typically marries deadpan performance, bold production design, impressive cinematography and the occasional duck. Because ducks are funny.
Don vs Lightning, their most recent short film, stars Peter Mullan and Joanna Scanlan and is currently at festivals, so far winning inclusion in Best of Fest at Palm Springs and a Special Mention from the Jury. Before that La Princesa de Woking, a spoof telenovela, was broadcast as part of the BBCs Festival of Funny and won the British Comedy Guide Production Awards and Best Film at the 2020 Short Com Film Festival.
Outside of their own productions, Johnny and Pier work regularly in the world of television, directing projects with BBC Studios, Tiger Aspect, Shiny Button and Rough Cut, including the pilot episode of Muzlamic, the UK's first all-Muslim sketch show which has since gone on to have a full series commissioned.
They don't want to toot their own horn too much, but they also direct commercials and have won many of the industry's highest awards including Golden Arrows, APA diamonds and the occasional Turkey of the Week. In 2012 they directed 3 of the five most complained-about ads that year.
A selection of work is available to view at www.bigredbutton.tv