A threatening red climbing plant slowly engulfs the façade of a house: windows crack, space begins to warp, and an unusual rain falls from the sky. On the balcony, two flatmates continue chatting and smoking. A parcel is waiting to be collected, but neither of them feels like going downstairs. They remain seated, unable (or perhaps simply unwilling) to react. In three minutes, The Balcony’s View stages the complacency of the mindset of so-called Western. Its two protagonists sense that something is fundamentally wrong with the world (from the climate crisis to the erosion of democratic principles) yet they continue their daily routines without questioning or acting. Their inertia becomes a mirror: at once hilarious and deeply unsettling.

Stella Hood studies art, with a focus on animation. The Balcony’s View premiered in the International Short Film Competition at DOK Leipzig.