Virgil's Writing Lament

Virgil's Writing Lament

Bruce Von Stiers

There are a lot of great writers out there. For every great writer, there are many that are mediocre. And the world has a ton of writers who just aren't any good. But even if you're a great writer, it doesn't mean you can get published.

There are some universities that help promote student writing, even going as far as helping a student get published. That is the basis for the short drama film, Sisyfus Unbound.

Virgil is a writing student at a college. His professor is looking for submissions to send to a publisher for consideration. Virgil wants his work to be that submission.

But Professor Laymen has a different thought on that. He doesn't think that Virgil has what it takes. And he is quite vocal about it in a meeting with Virgil. He discards Virgil's offering, not even giving it serious consideration.

A chance meeting between Gwen and Virgil at the start of the film adds to the story. Later, Gwen interrupts the meeting between Virgil and the professor. It seems that Gwen is the daughter of Professor Laymen. She also works with a publisher to bring new talent in.

By the end of the film, Virgil feels rejected, yet just might be given a second chance with his writing.

Frederick J. Todd played Virgil. He has starred in several short films and appeared in an episode of Fatal Attraction.

Emerson Adams played Gwen Laymen. She starred in the comedy drama The Long Distance.

Timothy J. Cox played Professor Richard Laymen. He has starred in a number of short films including After, Doll it Up and Creatures of Habit.

Ryan Fleming wrote and directed the film. He was also a co-producer for it. He was a producer of Rewriting Mallory. Molly Mitchell was the other co-producer.

Ashtin Francis was the cinematographer. He was the cinematographer for the comedy short film Briefcase and the horror short film Olivia. Joe Hughes edited the film. His previous editing credits include Expedition Bigfoot, Duff Takes The Cake and Ted Lasso. Maggie Pena was the assistant director. She worked on Rewriting Mallory with Ryan Mitchell.

The film was produced by MAFIA Productions.

Todd did a really good job as a dejected yet hopeful writer. Adams was cheerful, her character not being aware of the undercurrent between her father and Virgil.

Cox did an excellent job with his character as the arrogant professor. The character reminded me of a professor I had for a computer programming class an eon ago. That professor felt if you weren't in the class one hundred ten percent, you didn't deserve to be there. That type of arrogance shines through in the Professor Laymen character.

The film was screened at the Winterfilm X Festival in Cincinnati. Timothy J. Cox was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor at the Hilliard Film Festival.

Having finished its festival run, Sisyfus Unbound is now available for public viewing. You can watch it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBIR96i8lTI

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