‘In The Shallows’ Is A Visceral Collage Film That Confronts The Chaos Of Digital Life

In the Shallows (2024) combines sculptural collage with ink-and-paint animation to explore the fragmented, overstimulated nature of today’s media environment. Filmmaker Arash Akhgari creates a fast-paced mix of headlines, ads, and entertainment — a space that feels crowded and shallow, where meaning is easily lost.

Whether commuting or walking down the street, it’s hard to ignore the pull of our phones. Eyes down, we scroll through a constant flow of images, voices, and information that moves faster than we can process. The nonstop input overwhelms our thinking, distorts our focus, and starts to blur the boundary between our internal world and what’s coming at us from the outside. Over time, we feel less present, more disconnected, even from ourselves and the people around us.

Akhgari, an Iranian-born artist based in Montreal, is known for integrating traditional techniques like painting and collage into expressive, non-narrative works that probe emotional and societal disconnection. In this film, he employs a mix of collage and ink drawing (combining acrylic and India ink in an expressive style that recalls artists like Ryan Larkin and Michèle Cournoyer) to capture the grounded, everyday aspects of life.

The hand-drawn moments offer a sense of rhythm and clarity. In contrast, the magazine-sourced collage elements disrupt that calm, representing the nonstop intrusion of media content. They interrupt the flow with sharp, often chaotic bursts that mirror how digital noise cuts into our daily experience.

By layering these opposing techniques, detailed drawing against fragmented collage, the film builds a dynamic tension. It reflects the way personal and public worlds now constantly overlap, often to disorienting effect.

In the Shallows was produced by the National Film Board of Canada.