It’s Up to You – Solo da te

An Illustrated Short Story

Some of my paintings have been used as backdrop for the short story “Solo da Te” / “It’s Up to You” by Italian writer Gianni Bortolaso

 – Watch the video (in Italian, with English subtitles) below –
Narrated by Gianni Bortolaso and Elena Negro. Music by Paolo Bortolaso

Gianni Bortolaso is the author of Un accordo stonato published by Argentodorato Editore. The book was eventually selected for Sanremo Writer 2023 during the popular Italian music festival. “Solo da te” (“It’s Up to You”) is a short story written in exactly 1000 words and created for the inauguration of SBS Edizioni, under the theme Centrum Tuum, or Your Center.

Conceived in 2022, the text was published in 2023 and eventually translated into this bilingual video project featuring music, art and acting to amplify its message and expand audience reach. The narrative serves as a condemnation of feminicide, while also offering a message of redemption for the survivors, those left behind. In the writer’s own words, “I weighed, cut out, and re-edited the concept to the essence, sacrificing the superfluous that initially wasn’t there. Therefore, we arrive at the fulcrum, at the center of the story, which is enriched by keeping only what is strictly necessary, without narrative smudges. Not just an exercise in style, but a small sacrifice against a phenomenon – violence against women – that shouldn’t even exist. 1000 words, not one more, Not One Less. In Italian and in English.”

No AI was used in the creation of the video, artwork, voices, or original text/story.