The Sandbox

Gwendolyn5.0

MM, Megan Manifests. Flip it around…WONDER WOMAN!!!!!!!all the silliness aside, as someone that is struggling with a team of 6, trying to do what we do and stay loving what we do ( theatre) in singapore, watching that one moment where Megan’s Mom very candidly spell out how difficult it is to do Art in SG, I teared up. I teared up because it’s true. It is hard, it will always be hard but we will keep choosing this path and put up good performances and shows, one after another. Thank you sandbox. You told your story and the reality of so many of ours🥰

snowmanjo5.0

🙏Please… i implore all artists, especially Singaporean artists and passion driven individuals to watch this. I don't know if it will be your cup of tea but i see this as a fight for the art scene in Singapore🙏A mockumentary style film which features a real life studio fuelled with love and passion. Which unfortunately, is in the midst of closing down… This film is hilariously entertaining…but to me its greatest quality its its genuinity🙏I could feel the genuine love that everyone involved had for the arts and the desperation and passion to just create some good art regardless of its possible achievements. There was a scene where a mom was kinda putting her daughter down due to the fact that she abandoned her high profile career in marketing just to pursue arts in SG and she shared her candid thoughts on the art scene. Which honestly, was exactly the thoughts i had in my mind just a few nights ago. And it felt odd to hear my harsh thoughts come out from the mouth of that disgustingly discouraging mother…As much as i did not like to hear those words, I do agree that the reality is that it is hard to thrive in a mainly passion driven field in singapore. Witnessing the closure of “The projector ” was absolutely saddening and seeing the possible closure of the studio “ sandbox“ featured in this film is just heartbreaking as well… Which i guess to me felt like growing evidence that the future of the art scene in SG is bleak…But this film is a very sweet reminder to me that there are many artists that care deeply about the arts and have a strong spark to create some good art together. Please… i know it is hard especially when the reality is dull and the opposite of promising. But to all my fellow Singaporean artists and friends out there. Please don't stop making art… Although i definitely pray for all of you guys to achieve what you deem as success in the field. Even if the reality is harsh, i hope you don't let that spark die in you, for the fact that it really matters to someone like me to be able to know other artists are continuing to create art in their lifes and I’m sure it matters to many others alike. Please keep making art for yourself and for whoever may be interested. For, i already see it as a win. And this film is prove of that.Fight on!!! I’m cheering all of you guys on always🙏🙏🙏

Jun Sen Tan4.5

SGIFF36 - Singapore Panorama - The SandboxSandbox is relentlessly funny, has too many good one liners (Spider Man from TAMPINES), and is way too relatable as anyone who is a struggling creative or a small business owner neck deep in debt.The mockumentary is part true, part fiction, and at many times as I watched this I felt it was like a reverse Top Gun Maverick. It was really funny to see a debt-ridden business owner train a bunch of pretentious idiots (only Fauzi's character wasn't pretentious, the rest are), and they were really funny. My fave stunt idiots in the film are Nathan Hartono and Ben Kheng. Shu An also carries it with some of the funniest lines in the film too.Its fun. Really fun, and the best Singaporean comedy film I've ever seen. There's no token representation, its uniquely Singaporean, is accurate to reflect that as a society we do not make passion possible. Sandbox dares to have a laugh with us about it, and also celebrate those who continue to dedicate their entire lives to a passion that Singapore does not value.