The short's main characters are Simone - a young and ambition-less unemployed man, and the titular Djinn - an ancient and powerful genie that is reduced to grant wishes in a small suburban office. The first of the two wishes for a job, whereas the second only wishes to steal as many wishes as possible to his "customer", to obtain as many years of life for himself. Both characters are running from a crisis: Simone from the economic depression, and the Djinn from a crisis of the imagination that is perhaps a direct consequence of the first.
