DOOMSCROLLING

Doomscrolling is a three-minute short film that presents seven genre-spanning vignettes, each featuring a DOOMSCROLLER oblivious to their surroundings in the following scenarios:

1. A deadly home invasion
2. An apocalyptic rapture-like event
3. A neon-lit house party
4. An incoming nuclear missile strike
5. In an active war zone
6. A cult sacrifice ceremony
7. A raging house fire

The vignettes are tied together by kinetic visuals, AI-generated imagery, social feeds, and a pulsating electronic score by UK artist Ben Chatwin.

A film by Samuel Edward Mac
DOP: Rene Arseneau
VFX: Jordan Lavery
Score: Ben Chatwin
Gaffer: Lucas Wakman
Colour: Beatrice Tremblay

Narrator: Lee Marshall
Doomscrollers:
Maria Jimema Osorio
Jake Cohen
Arthur Bussieres Gallant
Samara O’Gorman
Eloise T Simard
Nicky Fournier
Gregory Yves-Fenelon

Take a ride on the subway, and you’ll notice everyone glued to their screens, scrolling away—even if a bright red clown walked by playing bagpipes, they wouldn’t flinch. I wouldn’t either, because I’d be doing the same thing.

I’ve nearly been hit by a car thanks to doomscrolling. It’s a real problem.

With that in mind, I teamed up with a group of Montreal filmmakers to create a surreal, experimental loop of fake public safety announcements about the dangers of scrolling. We drew inspiration from sci-fi, horror, dark comedy, and satire, and the project ultimately evolved into a three-minute short film made up of seven interlocking vignettes, narrated by Lee Marshall.

Doomscrolling highlights—and pokes fun at—the endless cycle of fake news, infotainment, global chaos, and our obsession with everyone else’s lives. In short, it’s a quick shot in the arm that’ll leave you feeling personally attacked.