Writer/ Director Joseph Ollman uncovers a splotch of hope in the darkest of situations in Bitter Sky. Bitter Sky is a short film that follows Nia, a troubled youth searching for an escape from her awful home life. Frequent physical confrontations with her school mates combined with abuse from her adopted father and a runaway mother created Nia’s bitter outlook on life and through a sudden friendship, she is briefly alleviated from her unfortunate reality.

Children should embody joy considering their age serves as a shield from life’s difficulties, but Ollman defines unhappiness as an entity that does not evade children. Nia has suffered abandonment in significant stages of her life physically representing the meaning a person can gift or steal from another. Nia’s past and future remain a mystery; leaving audiences to reflect on life itself.

Bitter Sky is an excellent coming-of-age film representing a different homelife rarely portrayed in the film industry. Ollman doesn’t refrain from writing about devastating circumstances and offers an outlook on the glimpses of happiness that give an otherwise unfortunate experience purpose. Joseph Ollman creates a captivating film leaving audiences eager for more of Roy and Nia. With nominations at the BFI Shorts for his debut film Throw Me to the Dogs and at the BAFTA Cymru for his short Meat on Bones, Bitter Sky has the foundation for a breakout film.