The Trail

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Synopsis: Estranged siblings Martin and Sam reunite for a walk through their childhood woods, hoping to reconnect. When a lone hiker crosses their path the boundary between reality and delusion disintegrates, as the siblings face a chilling nightmare that tests their fractured bond.

About the Filmmaker: Joseph Ollman is a multi award-winning and BAFTA Cymru nominated Writer/Director from Wales. His debut short, ‘Throw Me to the Dogs’ earned acclaim, winning several awards – including ‘Best Director’ at Shuffle Film Festival, judged by Academy-Award winning director Danny Boyle. Later, he was nominated for BFI Future Shorts ‘Best Director’, after having the film screened at BAFTA and Oscar Qualifying festivals all over the country, including Aesthetica Short Film Festval, London Short Film Festival and Cork Film Festival. It also earned a ‘Short of the Week’ pick, a slot on ‘MUBI’ and a Vimeo ‘Best of the Month’ once released. His second short ‘Meat on Bones’ was nominated for a BAFTA Cymru 2017 in the ’Best Short Film’ category. He later directed a short film, ‘Penelope’ as a part of a TV-Mini Series for ‘It’s My Shout Productions’ in co-production with BBC Wales, which was broadcast on the 28th of November, 2016 on BBC Two. His next film ‘Bitter Sky’, starring Darci Shaw and Richard Harrington, was produced by BFI Net.Work, Ffilm Cymru and BBC Wales. It screened at the prestigious BAFTA and Oscar Qualifying festivals Aesthetica Short Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival, on two separate programmes. The film was later broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer. He is also a prolific writer, having recently been accepted on the BBC Writers Room programme, after submitting his TV pilot ‘All Poor Creatures’, which was also awarded at the Celtic Screen Talent Showcase at Edinburgh Film Festival. He directed the #SPYCOPS campaign video, for Police Spies Out of Lives, funded by Lush UK. He is also an actor, appearing in such shows as HBO’s and BBC’s ‘Industry’, Peacock/NBC Universal ‘Vampire Academy’ and Sky/Epix show ‘Domina’.