Coping with recently breaking up with his girlfriend, Eoin (Conor Drum) wants nothing more than for his night shift at the local gas station to go by as quickly as possible. With only regular customer Ger (Stephen Jones), who is addicted to buying scratch cards, to keep him company, Eoin’s night takes an unexpected turn when an armed masked robber enters the station setting off a series of unfortunate events. Although the premise sounds vaguely similar to Kevin Smith’s Clerks, director Philip Kelly’s deliciously absurd script packs plenty of laughs to forge its own unique path. Aside from the hilarious reveals that occur throughout, Kelly manages to get plenty of mileage out of a running gag involving a winning scratch card that always seems to be just out of reach. Featuring solid performances and sharp dialogue, it is easy to see why Scratch was a hit on the festival circuit last year.

Scratch
Director: Philip Kelly / UK / 2014 / 14 minutes
Starring: Conor Drum, Stephen Jones, Sam Keeley, and Ian Lloyd Anderson