Sandcastles

Friday, September 27 - Thursday, October 3, 2024

SANDCASTLES parallels two Singapores: one in Southeast Asia, and one buried on the western coast of Michigan. On top of sharing the same name, these two places also share a fraught relationship with sand.

Singapore, Michigan was a thriving lumber town in the late 1800s, until erosion from mass deforestation caused the sand dunes around it to shift and swallow the town whole. Just as quickly as Singapore, Michigan disappeared under sand, its namesake in the East emerged from it; where there was once only water and marsh, there is now land. Around the world, Singapore is renowned for its use of land reclamation — importing sand to increase landmass and spur urban development.

From the perspective of multiple characters including sand importers, descendants of the buried town of Singapore, developers, environmental activists, and the indigenous communities of both Singapores, the film puts the two Singapores in dialogue to depict the temporal nature of human edifices built on and destroyed by nothing more than sand.

• Country USA
• Language English, Chinese with English Subtitles
• Running Time 17 minutes
• Format DCP
• Distributor Field of Vision
• Director Carin Leong
• Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.