The Balcony (CalArts Film 2022) 

This was so realistic... ultimately there's a part of every melancholic that wants to be part of the fun, but somehow we feel more connected to people in silly meetings like this one than we would at an actual party.

*OH MAN!!!* The end when he looks at his shoes and his key and the party and considers taking the pizza over to that party and maybe having a slice with the girl on the balcony, laughing all night and falling in love and changing his whole life around, _like in the movies,_ ... but then reality hits him. and his own fear of change, the unknown and a chance at happiness, and instead he just sits down in the gray of his own life and eats alone as usual... Wow. _Felt that!_ 😳

This hits way too hard. I'm someone who is very quiet and I don't socialize that well. I can usually have brief connections with people, but that is it. It sucks, because I wish I could be social and have fun, make friends, have a life. But I fall back to what is comfortable because I'm shy and get scared of what kind of situations I may put myself in- I'm scared of the awkwardness. Brilliant animation :,)

this is so melancholic i love it.

Damn. It hurt to see him choose not to go to the party, even though he may have wanted to. It hurt even more knowing that I would do the same thing. Beautiful story, though. I love the subtle details that show what is going on in his mind.

I love how you showed the contrast between the two apartments! His place was quite empty and gray/dull while the party was lively and colored in a bright yellow light. It’s a small background detail, but it adds a lot to the feeling of the narrative and characters. Everything about this animation, including the voice acting, character movement, simplistic yet detailed backgrounds, and the overall story, came together so nicely. I really enjoyed it! 😊

I adore this. It’s so atmospheric and tells an amazing story. The main character is left wondering if it was foolish to have wanted more from that interaction. I feel like many can feel what this film portrays.

This was too realistic and sad

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” ― Rabindranath Tagore

This need more attention. The artstyle is beautiful, animation flowy and story and sound design are both perfectly done!

Its not even about being shy or being awkward, its mainly about thinking: "what's the point?". Why does it matter that i put myself out there and let myself be known? Thats the kind of perspective that i think the character had

This is a very similar situation to the one I live in. I long to socialize and dream of having silly meeting like so but I'm too scared to try and it just becomes the question of "Can I?" to "Why should I?" and it's really tough. This video made me feel less alone, thank you. (Beautiful story and animation I absolutely adore your work!).

I relate to this. The short lived happiness I get from talking to my friends or very rarely strangers is quickly replaced by a feeling of emptiness.

For anyone struggling with this I feel you. I have been making moves to get past it but it is difficult. A lot of people say to just do it but it isn't as simple as that. A good way to start is not to just talk to people but to fail on purpose. You aren't afraid of interacting but rather the things that could go wrong with it. Making yourself awkward on purpose familiarizes you with the consequences of failure and gets to the crux of the problem. Another thing is to not think of the end goal. When you don't see yourself at where you want to be then you start to believe you will never reach it. Do it with the mindset of wanting to get better rather than fixing it. When in the moment think of how your effort will just make your life just a bit better. Even if you don't reach a goal you are content with what you did get out of it. One last thing I just thought of is if you try to tell yourself that you like being alone then recognize you are lying to yourself. Every human being longs for human connection. You don't need constant attention but everyone's life benefits from the ability to connect with others.

I absolutely love that you made the choice for him to stay because it feels so damn real. I’ve been in moments where I was in this situation. Most of them I stayed home in my comfort zone.

For someone who is all alone and wants some friends and family around, this is so relatable for me like I have a family but not the way everyone does

Beautifully done. As an introvert I can totally relate to the protagonist. Probably he was too scared to know the girl next door closely, a brief distant interaction was enough for him (the girl’’s facial features are not distinct) . Or rather he wanted to stay in his comfort zone, yet somewhere deep inside, a fraction of him wanted to socialize.

This was so good that I wanna know how this plays out after this event, like do they meet in the future? Or does he have another brief meeting with another person in another place where they vibe and say goodbye after a bit? Just man, I want this dude to someday get the courage to go for it yknow? But yeah awesome work! I'm glad I got to see this!

This is so awesome and relatable I forgot I was watching a video! Everyone who was involved in this did a great job!!!!

I half expected him to head to the party with the pizza in hand....but this is way more realistic. While sad I'm happy with the ending.

This hits way too hard for way too many people... And that song at the end... I don't think loneliness has been summed up better before. 😔

Poignant, realistic, and relatable. I wish the girl invited him over seeing as she is in a better situation. Unfortunately, just because someone is friendly doesn't mean they want to be friends. That's why animals (pets) are so much more valued than most people. Hopefully, this will remind all of us to be kinder, considerate, and take chances. Befriend that stranger. I am so fortunate to come across this. Sad, touching, and cathartic.

I was secretly hoping he'd bring the pizza over to that party as an ice breaker... but tbh I'd be too shy to do that too :,D wonderful work on this!

This hits home. I've lost so many opportunities where i could've made friends, had a little fun with people but my shyness and my owm overthinking habit made me ditch all of those. And now i sit alone questioning myself why i didn't grab the opportunity. Life would be so much better if it wasn't for my fear. Hopefully me as well as all these people in the comments gets to overcome their fear and enjoy. We all deserve it

I love how the two characters communicate on the balconies. You can feel the chemistry between them with just their gestures.

Loneliness will give way to happy relationships only at a ratio of 1:1. And that too not in silence.

I can't believe I didn't find this earlier! I love the down to earth approach and it's so realistic i love it!! everyone involved in this project deserves the world!

This is a wonderful piece of art. The animation is simple and the movements communicate emotion effectively. Every part about this works to carry the story that a heck of a lot of people can resonate with. And over all it just made me feel a little less alone :)

Watching this the day that I decided not to go on a school trip and seeing all my classmates posting about how much fun they’re having, seems only right.

As a fellow animation student this inspired me so much 🥰 loved the theme and the ending. Melancholy at its best.

You have to make more, please! This was absolutely amazing. You managed to portray that melancholic feeling in a beautiful way.

This me reminds of a day, that I will probably never forget, for as long as I live. It was Wednesday, the 4th of December, 2019. I had just made my way into the lobby of “The Pulitzer”, walking towards the elevator, to head to my room, after a rather disappointing first date. Which, to be quite honest, started very well, two days before that, on Monday the 2nd of December, in a restaurant in Museumplein, where I was having dinner with my 80 year old Dutch Godmother, Marianne. A place that we both liked, and frequented a lot, where we would have lobsters, a plate of french fries to share, and tiny green salads with Coca Cola for the both of us. We’ve been going there for quite sometime by then, since January of 2018 actually. Anyhow, we’re having a conversation about religion, the Renaissance, and architecture. Then comes this Dutch girl, my age, mid to late 20s, overhears our conversation as she lays our dinner on the table, looks at me, and asks me the most random, out-of-the-blue question one can imagine, while staring at me with her huge sea blue eyes, “What’s the most beautiful church in the world in your opinion?”, and for whatever reason, even though I was taken aback, I answer within a fraction of a second, with the following proclamation: “The Basilica of Santo Spirito in Florence.” Her eyes widen, like she just saw a ghost or something, smiles, walks away, I keep looking at her, and she turns back to look at me, and smiles even further whilst crossing the threshold of the bar. I look back at my Godmother with absolute amazement, and she’s astonished. The waitress comes back, and pours us two glasses of complimentary Italian wine of some sort, and tells me, that this is out of respect for the answer I’ve given her lol 😂. After dinner was concluded, we had this tradition to uphold, of going for walk in the nearby Vondel Park at night, as to make sure we digested our dinner before going to bed, and for us to be able to continue our conversation for as long as possible. As we were walking to leave the restaurant, she stops me, in-front of all her giggling colleagues, guys and girls, and hands me her number, tells me to message her on WhatsApp, and that her shift ends in two hours’ time. I’m flattered of course, and bemused at the turn of events of that most glorious evening. It was truly a special day altogether, from early morning, to the very last second before the struck of midnight. I finally get to my hotel, after walking my Godmother to her apartment on the other side of town, in Prinseneiland. As soon as I walk into the hotel, the WiFi breathes life into my phone, and a stream of messages come floating in. Long story short, I ended chatting with that waitress from almost half past 11, to 6am of the next day. Not a second of always silence even. An endless barrage of messages, emojis, videos, photos, and voice notes. She decides that we must meet, but not today, not Tuesday the 3rd, but tomorrow afternoon, Wednesday the 4th of December that is. She picks up the place, is a minute late only lol, and on her bike. We go in, all is well, and suddenly, she just shuts off, is taken aback by everything, and by how much I’ve come to know about her in such a short span of time. I think that scared her. Must’ve asked herself why him, why now, why do I find it easy to open up with him. I still can’t figure it out to this day. Anyway, I walk her outside, she keeps talking, as I look faraway in the distance, she’s still talking, I recall her taking the chains off her bicycle, tells me sorry, is confused, starts to mumble, and I can’t make out her murmurs anymore, not in a busy street in the Jordaan. I simply nod my head, shrugs my shoulder as she continues to apologize for something I can’t pinpoint, but feel in the atmosphere that surrounds us, the entire downfall and collapse of the vibes that banded us for the past two days is unbelievably hurtful. I walk away, she tries to shake my hand, I keep stepping back, look at her eyes for the last time, and turn away, never to look back again. I kept walking aimlessly for the next hour to two, completely drained out. I have no energy within me, and my mind can’t help but bombard me with questions to thy self. I was perplexed to the point of delirium. Finally, I’m back at the hotel, my phone rings with messages as usual, as soon as it connects to the hotel’s WiFi, and I just keep walking. I get to the elevator, someone calls out for me to hold it, which I do. There, walks a Dutch girl, coming from one of the Conference hall, which seems to have some gathering in it. She asks for a different floor than mine, I oblige, and continue to think about what just happened. Suddenly, I hear this lady talking to me, I look to my left. I still remember this, quite vividly as well. She smiles, and tells me to smile. I probably gave her a confused Scooby Doo facial expression, she laughed, and told me that I was way too young to think about anything, and that I probably have a wonderful smile. The elevator stops at her floor, she keeps smiling, wishes me a good night, I’m still there, speechless, thinking that’s the end of it. But no, suddenly her hands comes whipping through the sliding elevator doors, and it’s her again!! “You’re okay, right?” She said, still with that radiant warm smile of hers. I finally utter words…or rather one word, “Yes” I replied. She smiled, and left. The elevator doors closed, I got to my floor in seconds, made my way into my room, feeling a little better, took a shower, called Marianne, and went out for another great night again. Watching this, reminded me of that time. 2-4 December, 2019. Most importantly, of that kind girl, her radiant smile, her sincere concern for a complete stranger, and how the world is filled with amazing petrol. How one should simply, keep on living. I often think of her. I really do. I wish her nothing short of the utmost luck where ever she is, in whatever endeavor she might embark upon. A beautifully sublime specimen of the human species no doubt. Thank you for uploading this, and a huge thank you to whomever worked on producing such a beautiful piece of art. ✌️✌️✌️

This shows a real picture of life and how people choose to stay in comfort zone even if it's not..

wow, this is amazing! It really made me feel like the friendship was going to go somewhere, and then it just.. doesn't. Really captures how it goes a lot of the time haha

I don't think I ever yelled at my phone screen so bad. He seriously should have went over there.

I love how F.R.I.E.N.D.S was there, it's one of my favorite shows! And I love how realistic this animation is.

Fun fact: smokers are more likely to be depressed than non-smokers 😁

What a touching story.. It's ok. His solitude is protecting him. He still may find hope, when he is ready to face his fears.

This is brilliant and such an emotive message. The fact that you could also make it clear what the girl was gesturing about without having facial features or speech is really clever- you’ve clearly spent a lot of time thinking through all of these minute but important details. I’d love to see a full length animation in this style :)

I used to be so lively and such a peoples person when I was younger. Idk what happened to me. Probably because of years of bullying, and being around bad people that I can’t come out of my shell now. Idk why I’m so awkward now, I just can’t socialise especially at parties I can’t loosen up. This is quite realistic and relatable because even after that weird/unique interaction I would be way too shy to go there with the pizza, I would just choose my couch and my cat.

Damn this hit me. Im chronically ill and cant get around much. And this really feels like my life. I love the art style btw

I literally ate a cookie from my fridge and watched my neighbor throw a party tonight while waiting for a pizza to be delivered 5 hours before finding this video. Apparently the animators of CalArts have been watching my daily life. If I had known I would have split the cookie with them.

I'm bursting in tears and I don't even know why. But loved it.

This is one of those shorts, where you suppose to enjoy the art itself. But its also hit quiet hard with his tone on a personal level. At least, this is what i feel.

I've lived alone for many years. I value my alone time and don't get lonely. But I'm not anti-social. I communicate by phone & email. I interact with a few close neighbors, if only briefly. I find it easy to chat up other customers(strangers) in the grocery store checkout line, or spend a few minutes chatting with a clerk at the gas station. I'm also a guest gardener on someone else's property, and love to visit with the other two gardeners. These brief interactions with others satisfy my need for human contact, I feel engaged with the world and never feel deprived. I look for small pleasures and value small blessings. I also benefit greatly from being able to find the humor in just about everything. :)

This is so melancholic and obviously beautifully portrayed. I can relate to this on a spiritual level. Thank you for making such a painful story.

this is what is called " avoidant personality disorder" you may be an introvert, but sometimes you like to socialize and have fun with other people, but you keep thinking that what if I fail to impress or communicate with others, so you fall back to being alone which is comfortable and easy

Fenominal! I loved the art style that was both simple and complex, but the story was even better. The story showed a very sobering reality of loneliness and the urge to stay in our comfort zones, and it was executed beautifully.

I recently watched a Korean movie about zombies, there is also a guy and a girl on different balconies, they lived opposite each other and talked like that. Another rope was stretched out and food was passed to each other. It's called #Survive. Good film.

This was my new year night. My friends were partying while I stayed cooped up in my room. Because I got a bad cough and didn't want to ruin the party.

This was amazing and so true. At last everyone have to leave alone no matter , how people meet you or talk to you at the end of the chapters of life you are alone, but few things when he look at the shoes and keys in my opinion, he want to escape from this world to join the party but he denied and sit in couch and want to forget what happened to him with her

People are ignoring the most important part, in my opinion. Often we are alone because we choose to be that way. All though we want to belong but when the opportunity comes we say no. sometime, just pretend that you are somebody else and make choices you wouldn't usually make!

This cartoon is about boredom. He is bored alone, she is bored among the guests. They are also bored with each other. We are all alone in this world... I liked the animation! There are no frills, but it conveys the mood perfectly ... Thanks to the Author

Oh my gosh I love this!!! great job. One day I will be as good as you 😀

Been on a horror animation rabbit hole tonight and thought that's what this was going to be but now I just feel loney

I'm scrolling through the comments but as an ambivert (extroverted introvert) who's heart broke as I saw him choose the opposite route than I would've chosen, though- I can understand why him and many others in this comment section would have chosen to stay than to go; but at the same time it still hurts my outgoing "if not now, then when?" mentality :,) as awkward and nervous as I can be in social situations, going out there and doing it just to say I've done it to myself is what pushes me out there. I hope all you introverts looking to find friends or a means of socializing also end up finding what pushes you out of your comfort zone and gets you interacting with others in a connection that lasts

Why is this my life

The ending might come off as a sad portrait but it's good he got to spend time with himself and he probably would have hated the party anyway. Better let the balcony interaction be contained in the magical bubble.

this is amazing

they come in our life for a split second we have a little joy and then its again back to normal alone but with some good memories

This is such a good film, great work! The characters are so expressive and hearing one of my favorite songs at the end was a really nice surprise, it definitely fit well with the story!

interesting to think that the girl could be feeling the same! she, in a moment, takes a deep breath and by the trace of her mouth, I feel that she also feels such things. as much as she said she went out to get some air, maybe she's feeling more than the obvious... what an incredible thing. I'm sick, I've got the flu and stuff... and seeing this has made me feel completely filled with light.

A perfect masterpiece… I totally relay to that sad story

Today we were doing some end of grade testing and before it started I was signing stuff to my friends and playing rock paper scissors, this reminds me of that.

This is a great life lesson. Don’t be stuck in a job you hate because it is comfortable. Your life could be so much more with a little bravery. God bless!

Just loved the concept behind this story. In such short time this short film connects with us and when it ends, we are like "wait... didn't it just started ?" that's what i felt too. This teaches us our life is not like Movies/Anime where every person who is being polite with us doesn't necessarily means he/she likes you and you don't have to act like a creep and follow him/her. Along with that a very good message that a person who is alone can be super happy if he is with the one special person whom he like, sameway a person can be unhappy or unsatisfied even if surrounded by many people as much as he/she is with that 1 special friend. Coming back to video i feel animation could be improved, voice-over was very good it was matching with the character shown, song was amazing. Overall a very good short film!! Well done guys👏😊❤

As an extrovert person, It's very difficult for me to stay alone for too long! But, all of my friends stays fur from where I am staying now because of my job. I've suffered from depression and anxiety, and still do! I would've joined the party or at least tried to join. I'm from BANGLADESH. It's nice to meet you people! Peace!

This is honestly so relatable. I am not very social and I’d rather just stay in my house all day than go out, yet the times when I do go out into the world (only when I have too) I enjoy myself. But like this short movie shows, even when I do enjoy my time out it’s only temporary and then I’m back to isolating myself again.

This makes me feel an emotion that doesn’t exist.

I try to push out of my comfort zone & fight loneliness. But sadly i always end up alone & lonely. This video really is what i feel every day in my personal life. I want to connect but it's just hard to get along with others. I wish i can have friends that can care & ask & want to be with me. Thank you for this video it showed me I'm not alone in this.

Social anxiety sucks, and hits very hard when you see others having fun, and you don't wanna go out of your little bubble of comfy... Sorry for my english... I'm practicing, I promise

Absolutely sad beauty 😥 😔 ❤

"lonely but not alone" I relate :)

I love this so much!!

woww and i watch it at night in the same situation like the boy.......really nice storytelling ........real soothing pleasing work,,,,,,,,thanks for the relatibility in life.......

There are people who come for few minutes in our lifes and make us feel good and then leave for those people who make them feel the same... Sometimes we feel if they could have stayed longer but even they have to go to some other place where they want to stay longer... I'm waiting for the day when we both kind a feel the same for each other and stay and not leave

I love this kind of illustrations..awesome work

Art like this makes life worth living. Keep it up, this was brilliant.♥️

SO comforting yet I feel sad🤎

It shows how sweet moments in blink of eye have the power to change your mood and i specially like these because these animated movies shows the world in a different perspective and shows us the things that we don't usually mind or notice and in the end the life still goes on 😊:))

He opening the fridge and there's nothing there ( so relatable)

Wow.. As someone who can't socialize even if I wanted to, this was painfully relatable, and maybe for people like the girl it was just a "fun thing" to do, it's just feel awful that you just can't keep up with them, or that they give you hopes for a deeper conection but you just can't. Totally loved the film.

This is a comment that appreciate how good this video was despite hurting the commenter right in the deep by how sad and realistic it was.

This is good like a crossover of two person but not inlove just met and back to basic, SO REALISTIC!

I often spend time on the balcony and always wonder if anyone else goes to their balconies in the nearby homes

I absolutely adore this art style!

The bane of modern life.... Loneliness and solitude. No one trusts anyone anymore. No one loves anyone anymore. Loving oneself is not enough to make one's Life complete. The world is too beautiful or too dangerous to live alone.

Yeah we all have chances but the fear of being awkward or maybe the thought that the other might think we're weird makes let go them. And watching the ending of this magnificent animation, I felt like we can try. The other person might really think us a weirdo but than that's just that. Maybe there's another one who lacked courage like us and happy that we approached first.

Ufff, very good 😮‍💨

I am the opposite. I would rather regret taking a chance than regret not having tried at all. I feel for people like this.

So realistic last music hits hard..

Aaaah man this hits hard Such a beautiful,deep, realistic story❤️

I hoped so hard for him to get out. But still, he did what most of the people would have done. Seize the day guys!

This hits me too much.

2:35 Awww 🥺💖

I thought he was gonna jump off the balcony-

I'm disappointed that he didn't bring the pizza to the party to share it with this girl...

i am so mood after this..

There were really parts of our lives that we don't expect. Something will happen, and when u're in the peak of enjoying it, it won't lasts. It quickly ends just like how u didn't expect it begun. But at least, u became happy.

This hits different