I’m very excited to finally release my first short film in two years, #DOOMSCROLL. This film talks about things that genuinely worry me: digital health, and how short-form social media may damage our attention, emotions, and relationships. While making it, I had to install one of those big short-video platforms, an occupational hazard. The good thing is that I can use film to channel this lingering feeling that something is off about the way social media and AI are shaping everything. But let's face it, AI is clearly here to stay. In creative work, I see it best used as a tool. Something that supports human screenwriting and cinematography rather than replacing them. Even though this short film is, ironically, somewhat about artificial ways of creating or living, I’m drawn to stories that feel handmade and human. A big thank you to Grace Chalcroft and Gianmarco Aguilar — two wonderful actors and even better people. It was a pleasure spending that September afternoon shooting the first scene of this film. There were months when I thought the project was dead and that the second scene would never be made. The VFX challenges were greater than I expected at first. Finishing it six months later feels incredibly rewarding. I’m proud of the perseverance it took to get here. With this short, I close my trilogy about how technology can affect us — a journey that began with The Stranger, told through the lens of horror, and continued with Airplane Mode, approached as a drama, and now concludes on a note of humor. It’s worth putting this message out there. I’m sure there are many of us who feel that so much of social media is just noise with very little substance — and that the things truly worth our attention are elsewhere. Check out my work at www.sebcruz.com
