Awaiting the Lightning Bolt
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Running Time 4 minutes 14 seconds
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Genre Comedy, Drama, animation, fantasy
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Language English
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Completed June 20, 2024, Italy
In Awaiting the Lightning Bolt, Renato, an eccentric Renaissance inventor, dares the impossible: capturing a lightning bolt in a jar! Fuelled by ambition and defying the skepticism of his peers, he races against time in a thrilling journey, where each storm offers an extraordinary glimpse into the mysteries of nature and the power of love.
Writer and Director
Marco Russo
Music
Matt Loveridge
Jagged Honeycomb,
Cast
Lupo Misrachi
Lorenzo Ferrero
About the director
Marco Russo is a writer, director and animator.
He started his career as a comic book writer, working with publishers such as Les Éditions Dupuis and Panini Comics, in Italy, France and Belgium.
He studied film-making at Stockholms Filmskola and directed some live-action short films.
In 2024, he attended the Aardman Academy, where he crafted “Awaiting the Lightning Bolt”, a short film in stop-motion animation.
I made this film because I have tried to catch a lightning bolt myself, and perhaps I’m still trying.
The true motivations behind this story revealed themselves over time. It all started with a phrase uttered by a friend: ‘to be struck by lightning’ means to fall in love but also to find what you are looking for—something that gives you a reason to live. The idea of battling the elements to capture your reason for living fascinated me.
Gradually, the concept shifted towards personal experiences: the loss of my father and the realization that I would do anything to save him. The lightning bolt then transformed into a representation of life itself.
Thus, Renato was born: an eccentric inventor willing to do anything to save the people he loves. He must overcome not only the forces of nature but also the ignorance of his time, a theme that became an important part of the story, partly inspired by stereotypes from my own country, Italy.
‘Awaiting the Lightning Bolt’ is a deeply personal part of my life, but I hope it can resonate with people everywhere.