Have you ever wondered how much control we have over our own lives? That question is the central theme of Rewriting Mallory , as we follow two people struggling to deal with lives marred by tragedy. Drifting between Joshua's attempts to deal with the loss of his sister through writing and Mallory having what could be the worst day of her life, this curious short film offers an interesting perspective on their two lives. One reminiscent of Morpheus' words to Neo in The Matrix  about Dorothy; "tumbling down the rabbit hole". Yes, Director Emerson Adams certainly conjures some colourful imagery with this one! Strangely, for a film that handles themes such as grief and trauma in such a grounded and sensitive way, it also pulls off one hell of a magic trick. Rewriting Mallory  starts off as one thing, essentially lulling you into a false sense of security, before jack-knifing your entire  understanding of what's going on. A move that somehow adds to the intrigue withou

Virgil, a college writing student, hopes to have his latest story published, but he must first get over one major hurdle before his work gets out to the world, his mercurial writing professor Richard Laymen. Sisyphus Unbound proves to be the perfect title for this oddly relatable and rather compelling tale of student and teacher - and yes, I did have to look up who Sisyphus was (Greek mythology is definitely not my strong suit). We've all had at least one teacher who seemed to have it in for us, or at the very least we didn't like. Now this may be an extreme example, but it's a role that Timothy J. Cox seems to revel in, because there is something delightfully despicable in his portrayal of the evil professor. While - in complete contrast - Frederick J. Todd turns Virgil into a kind of hero of the downtrodden. It would have been easy for Todd to play Virgil in a way that makes him appear a little pathetic. Instead he makes it about a man finding his voice, and his courage.