Living Soil Series — A Film Double Bill: Sandcastles (2024) + Moving Earth (2024) + Post-Show Talk
About this Event
The Living Soil Series with CoThink Lab Fellow Vivian Lee and Living Soil Asia kicks off with a double bill film screening of Sandcastles (2024) by Carin Leong and Moving Earth (2024) by Ian Mun.
What do we consider as home? The constructed complex we live in? The land where we make our livelihood? The narratives of moving homes and earth, land use policy and the construction industry led by urban development will be uncovered.
Join us for a pre-show activity to pen down stories of relocation and land reclamation. Stay for a post-film panel discussion moderated by Vivian Lee, featuring Sandcastles producer Martin Loh, Moving Earth director Ian Mun, and Bing Yu from Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) — a non-profit society dedicated to fostering sustainable kampung culture through active community participation.
Sandcastles (2024) by Carin Leong
(Frame enlargement. Courtesy of Carin Leong.)
Sandcastles (2024) 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 19th century 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 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 more than sand.
Director: Carin Leong
Producers: Martin Loh, James Qiu, Carin Leong, Jacob Fertig, Jaydn Ray Gosselin
Editor: Jaydn Ray Gosselin
Cinematographers: Lincoln Yeo, Luc Ung, Jacob Fertig
Sound Designers: Ernie Goh
About Carin Leong
Carin Leong is a Singaporean documentary filmmaker and multimedia journalist based in Brooklyn.
Her work explores themes of science, cultural memory, and landscapes. Her latest film, Sandcastles, supported by Field of Vision, was selected for IF/Then SEA, a joint program by the Tribeca Film Institute and IN−DOCS, and premiered at SXSW in 2024. Her earlier documentary Canciones de Memorias premiered at the Singapore International Film Festival in 2018. In 2024, she was recognised by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the 25 Faces of Independent Film.
Carin’s work has been featured by outlets including Scientific American, Hakai Magazine, and The Atlantic. She holds a master's degree in science journalism from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and is also a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Moving Earth (2024) by Ian Mun
(Frame enlargement. Courtesy of Ian Mun.)
Against the backdrop of nation−building and urban development in Singapore, a touch of bittersweet nostalgia lingers in the air as the good people of Ground−Up Initiative (GUI) bid their home goodbye in preparation for the move to a new land.
What happens when we love our earth from the group up? We start by loving the soil that makes us. 2024 marks the start of GUl’s big move, a movement that brought together people from all walks of life who believed in a common vision to write a new chapter in our environmental story. To have filmed Moving Earth was a privilege to step into this journey, to peer into a whole new world of stories. To all who were involved in this heartfelt story, thank you for teaching me how to love this planet deeper through soil − the very foundation we live on.
Director: Ian Mun
Producers: Roving Studio, Rachel Cheang, Neo Xiayun
Cinematography and Edit: Ian Mun
Colorist: Aaryan Chowdhary
Featuring: Cai Bing Yu, Wu Yen Hua (Mrs Tang), Mei Chang from Ground−Up Initiative (GUI)
About Ian Mun
Ian Mun is a Singapore based wildlife and conservation storyteller. As a filmmaker and a photographer, he weaves tales that give life to untold stories, bridging the gap between humanity and nature. With every narrative, he seeks to celebrate our planet, one story at a time. In 2021, he founded The Roving Studio, a creative space dedicated to unearthing stories where communities, culture, climate, and the natural world converge.
About Vivian Lee
Vivian Lee’s practice is rooted in land regeneration, soil healing, and the interconnection between nature and well-being. Alongside Living Soil Asia, she explores how our relationship with land reflects our relationship with the body — examining Singapore’s urban landscape through the lens of ecological mindfulness and sustainable practices.
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Admission Rules
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- 72-13 is wheelchair-accessible and includes limited wheelchair seating. Please contact us at 6737 7213 to book wheelchair seats.
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Contact Us
- For more information on CoThink Lab, please visit performfellowship.org.
- For any enquiries, please email ticketing@tworksasia.org or call at 6737 7213.
About CoThink Lab
CoThink Lab in its ethos presents thought leadership from independent Singapore artists, cultural workers, writers, curators, and scientists. This fellowship platform began in April 2021 through the format of digital keynotes by Singapore Fellows who are at the forefront of research and/or activating local communities. This has since developed into diverse formats.
As the Singapore companion to the Per°Form Open Academy, Per°Form CoThink Lab focuses on the practitioner as a thought leader engaged between multiple locals and the international, actively bridging histories, the precarious present, and world-creating. It is conceptualised and led by T:>Works Artistic Director, Dr. Ong Keng Sen.
