"Sandcastles" is a poetic documentary short paralleling two Singapores: one in Southeast Asia, and one buried on the western coast of Michigan. On top of sharing the same name, the two places also share a fraught relationship with sand. Singapore, Michigan was a thriving lumber town in the late 19th century until erosion from mass deforestation caused the sand dunes around it to shift and swallow the whole town. Just as quickly as Singapore, Michigan disappeared under sand, its namesake in the East emerged from it through land reclamation.

The film weaves a narrative that intertwines the two Singapores to depict the temporal nature of human edifices built on and destroyed by nothing but sand.

The film is currently screening at festivals.
Contact team@denizenstudios.com for a screener link.