Synopsis

Gropius House in Gropius City, Berlin.

 The camera remains on the facade for a long time. We see a section of an apartment block, the size of which we can only guess. From far away we hear the sound of children playing. The facade is strictly divided into patterns of windows and balconies, each of them being both a small potential stage and a theater box at the same time. A boy shows up and directly aims his binoculars at us.

The film essay BALCONY follows the dynamics of seeing and being seen. Laundry is being hung up, two neighbors are talking on the phone over the distance of three floors, a woman is taking care of her plants, a cat is trapped behind a cat net, and occasionally someone is standing on their balcony, smoking. Yet, most balconies are deserted. Only things are left behind, put down or stacked up, sometimes lovingly arranged. The orientation of the satellite dishes, the flower boxes or the abandonment testify to the residents of the apartments.

As the camera gradually focuses on new sections of the building, we hear voices from the OFF. They tell of everyday occurrences and dramatic disruptions, of longings, moments of happiness, neighborly relations, reservations, fears.

The calm pictures, scenes and words add up to what it is: a cosmos of everyday life.

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Info

Original Title: Balkonien

Genre: Documentary (Short)

24'', German

Germany

Director: Jakob Krese, Pedro Martin

Director of Photography: Jakob Reinhardt, Leonard Schmidt, Jakob Krese

Sound: Pedro Martin, Jakob Krese

Editor: Annika Mayer

Sound Design, Mixing: Gaston Ibarroule

Producers: Jakob Krese, Pedro Martin

Premiere: Achtung Berlin 2021, Award for the Best Short Documentary