ONE MORE TIME
By Jessie Van Der Vyver
The Pirandellian Memory in the Vertical Format: When Writing Saves a Life
The short film “One More Time”, awarded for its skill in writing and directing a story of rare depth, is a work that questions the boundary between creation and reality.
The central theme is a brilliant exercise in meta-narrative: when the protagonist prepares to commit an extreme and irreparable act, it is not a deus ex machina that intervenes, but the writing itself that rebels, with the screenwriter desperately stepping in to rewrite his destiny.
This dynamic powerfully evokes the Pirandellian memory, where the character acquires such an autonomous life that he seems to beg his creator for help. The drama unfolds in the clash between the protagonist’s self-destructive will and the author’s urgency to protect her invention.
The screenwriter finds herself acting like a thaumaturge, challenging her own script to save the creature she brought to life. The dramatic tension that permeates the short keeps us in suspense until the end: will the author succeed in dissuading her character and rewriting the ending?
It is a work that reminds us that narration is not mere invention, but an autonomous force, capable of suffering, changing, and, ultimately, hoping. A sharp reflection on the power of creativity and the author’s responsibility.
