Singapore stunt school Sandbox closes down before the film based on it opens in October

Sandbox is a comedy film based on a real stunt school starring its founder Peps Goh (second from left).

PHOTO: MOCHA CHAI LABORATORIES

Published Sep 24, 2026, 06:05 AM

Updated Sep 24, 2026, 09:59 AM

The Sandbox stunt school in Singapore closed in September 2026 due to high costs, despite training over 200 actors and handling major theatre fight choreography.

A film titled Sandbox, a mockumentary starring the school's founder Peps Goh, portrays the school’s struggle and closure, blending real events with comedy to convey its message.

After closure, Sandbox will continue project-based work without a physical space, while Goh pursues marketing jobs and builds international partnerships in Taiwan.

SINGAPORE – When local mockumentary Sandbox had its premiere at the 36th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) in November 2025, the audience at the screening roared with laughter.

The plot centres on the eponymous Singapore stunt school which is saved from financial ruin after it gains a sudden influx of students hoping to be cast as superheroes in a Marvel blockbuster.

In real life, no such miracle happened, and the actual school the comedy film is based on, Sandbox Training Ground, has closed after five years.

The keys to its space at 10 Raeburn Park were handed back to the Singapore Land Authority on Sept 24 after its lease expired, and finding a new place was untenable due to high rental rates.

The film stars Sandbox’s real-life founder, actor and action director Peps Goh, who plays a fictionalised version of himself. The cast also includes actor-singers Benjamin Kheng, Nathan Hartono and Estelle Fly, content creator Fauzi Azzhar and actress Oon Shu An. It is written and directed by Singapore-based Briton James Thoo.

Ahead of the movie opening in Singapore cinemas on Oct 8, Goh tells The Straits Times that it was not easy to act out his school’s closure on camera while living through it in real time.

“It’s tough because you’re reopening things that you’re repressing and you have to intentionally bring that out,” the 32-year-old says at the film’s press event held at the school on Sept 10.

“To have that appear on screen is quite vulnerable. But as an actor, it was probably the easiest thing to do because I didn’t have to use any technical process to get into character. I was really just being myself.”

Even though Sandbox’s theatrical release will not be able to reverse the school’s fortunes, Goh hopes that audiences will still watch and appreciate the story, which Thoo describes as about “the quiet courage of people who keep showing up for their families, their businesses, their communities and their country”.

Opened in 2021, Sandbox has trained more than 200 actors, including talent like former Hong Kong TVB actor Alan Wan, Singaporean actresses Apple Chan and Tay Ying, as well as Singaporean actor Aaron Mossadeg, who acts in the film.

The school also handled fight choreography for major theatrical productions such as Singapore Repertory Theatre’s production of Macbeth in 2025.

It first announced its impending closure two weeks before the SGIFF premiere. Although it made an appeal for investment or sponsorship, no saviour emerged.

The film, shot from June to July 2025 with no government grants , spent the next five months finishing up post-production for the SGIFF premiere. Thoo then re-edited and tightened the pacing for the theatrical release.

Despite the serious financial reality behind the scenes, he insisted on telling the story as a mockumentary rather than a grim drama.

“I feel like it’s easier to communicate a message if it’s not just unrelentingly bleak,” Thoo, 41, says in an interview together with the rest of the cast at the press event. “In a way, it’s a little manipulative. We seduce you with the comedy so that we can make you hear the message.”

He initially wrote the script based on his own experience opening a gym with his brother in Malaysia.

After discovering Sandbox, he adapted the story and cast Goh, unaware that the school was facing an actual closure. “It’s a completely unhappy accident that the fate of the real business mirrored what was happening on-screen,” Thoo says.

Produced by Brango Productions and Mocha Chai Laboratories – the film-makers declined to reveal the production budget – the film was financed through private supporters and brand sponsorship from Income Insurance.

(From left) Sandbox’s writer-director James Thoo and cast members Benjamin Kheng, Peps Goh, Nathan Hartono, Estelle Fly and Fauzi Azzhar at the film’s press conference held at the stunt school before its closure. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

(From left) Sandbox’s writer-director James Thoo and cast members Benjamin Kheng, Peps Goh, Nathan Hartono, Estelle Fly and Fauzi Azzhar at the film’s press conference held at the stunt school before its closure.

ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

Thoo is vocal about being commercially accountable and not asking for government grants, explaining: “I can’t rely on the Government to fund my film that may not make money. It’s on me to make a good enough film that people watch it.”

Like the stunt trainees that they play , the movie’s main cast members tell ST that they drew on their own experiences as independent creatives who have had to pick themselves up after professional hurdles to flesh out their characters.

Kheng plays Joash, a delusional self-proclaimed expert who thinks he knows everything. Off-screen, the 36-year-old found that the film’s premise hit close to home. “The idea of trying to keep things alive in this country, it has hit us all. It felt very real.”

Hartono portrays Dennis, an over-intense trainee who takes stunt work too seriously. The 35-year-old says that learning stunts live on camera added to the authenticity, adding: “A lot of the learning that is shown in the movie is happening in real time... you end up falling all over the place.”

Sandbox stars (from left) Estelle Fly, Nathan Hartono, Benjamin Kheng, Fauzi Azzhar and Aaron Mossadeg. PHOTO: MOCHA CHAI LABORATORIES

Sandbox stars (from left) Estelle Fly, Nathan Hartono, Benjamin Kheng, Fauzi Azzhar and Aaron Mossadeg.

The optimism of Estelle Fly’s character Cassie, a chirpy individual who dips her toes into stunt training with no expectations, mirrors her co-stars’ journeys as artistes, she says. “We started out with nothing, going off a dream and a hope... We make something out of nothing, and we make it beautiful because we put our heart into it.”

Content creator Fauzi, who plays Syafiq, a character terrified of taking risks, says his role has parallels to his own career path. “It was only after I had built up some savings through my 10 years of a full-time corporate job, that I felt ready to take a chance at full-time content creation and freelance acting. I think that’s the current reality in pursuing art in Singapore.”

Following the school’s closure, Goh says he is temporarily stepping into a full-time marketing and advertising job.

Despite not having its own physical space, Sandbox will continue taking on project-based work, such as co-directing a stage combat section for the 2027 edition of the Singapore International Festival of the Arts, by renting external studios and rehearsal spaces.

Sandbox stars (from left) Jon Cancio, Oon Shu An and Peps Goh. PHOTO: MOCHA CHAI LABORATORIES

Sandbox stars (from left) Jon Cancio, Oon Shu An and Peps Goh.

Goh and his team are also establishing international partnerships in Taiwan.

Looking back at his journey with Sandbox, he reflects on the experience without regret and emphasises the importance of taking risks.

“It was important to try. I didn’t want to be on my deathbed wondering, ‘What if I tried?’”

Sandbox opens in Singapore cinemas on Oct 8.

Film festivals/awards

Sandbox 是一部喜剧电影，改编自一所真实的特技学校，由其创始人 Peps Goh（左二）主演。

图片：摩卡柴实验室

发布于 2026 年 9 月 24 日上午 6:05

更新于2026年9月24日上午9:59

尽管新加坡的 Sandbox 特技学校培训了 200 多名演员并负责大型剧院的打斗编排，但由于成本过高，该校于 2026 年 9 月关闭。

一部名为《沙盒》的电影，是一部伪纪录片，由该校创始人吴佩普主演，描绘了学校的挣扎和关闭，将真实事件与喜剧融合在一起，传达了其信息。

关闭后，Sandbox 将继续以项目为基础开展工作，但没有实体空间，而 Goh 将在台湾从事市场营销工作并建立国际合作关系。

新加坡——2025 年 11 月，当本地伪纪录片《沙盒》在第 36 届新加坡国际电影节 (SGIFF) 上首映时，放映现场的观众哄堂大笑。

故事围绕着新加坡一家同名特技学校展开，该学校在突然涌入大量希望在漫威大片中扮演超级英雄的学生后，免于破产。

现实生活中并没有发生这样的奇迹，这部喜剧电影的原型学校——沙盒训练场——在五年后已经关闭了。

9 月 24 日，由于租约到期，该公司位于雷伯恩公园 10 号的办公场所的钥匙已交还给新加坡土地管理局，而由于租金高昂，寻找新办公场所已不再可行。

这部电影由Sandbox的创始人、演员兼动作指导吴佩诗（Peps Goh）主演，他在片中饰演一个虚构版的自己。其他演员包括演员兼歌手Benjamin Kheng、Nathan Hartono和Estelle Fly，内容创作者Fauzi Azzhar以及演员Oon Shu An。影片由定居新加坡的英国人James Thoo编剧并执导。

在电影于 10 月 8 日在新加坡影院上映之前，吴先生告诉《海峡时报》，在现实生活中经历学校关闭的同时，还要在镜头前演绎学校关闭的场景，这并不容易。

“这很艰难，因为你重新打开了你一直在压抑的东西，你必须有意识地把它们表达出来，”这位 32 岁的演员在 9 月 10 日于学校举行的电影新闻发布会上说道。

“把这种感觉呈现在银幕上，其实挺脆弱的。但作为一名演员，这或许是最容易做到的，因为我不需要任何技巧来进入角色。我只是在做我自己。”

尽管《沙盒》的上映无法扭转学校的命运，但吴希望观众仍然会观看并欣赏这个故事，而图则将这个故事描述为“讲述的是那些默默地为家人、事业、社区和国家挺身而出的人们的勇气”。

Sandbox 于 2021 年开业，已培训了 200 多名演员，其中包括前香港无线电视演员温家宝、新加坡女演员陈慧玲和郑颖，以及出演该片的演员新加坡演员 Aaron Mossadeg 等人才。

该校还负责大型戏剧作品的武术编排，例如新加坡话剧团 2025 年上演的《麦克白》。

在新加坡国际电影节首映式前两周，该影院首次宣布即将关闭。尽管它曾呼吁投资或赞助，但最终未能获得任何帮助。

这部电影于2025年6月至7月拍摄完成，没有获得任何政府资助。接下来的五个月里，影片都在进行后期制作，以备在新加坡国际电影节首映。之后，导演图对影片进行了重新剪辑，并调整了节奏，使其更紧凑，以适应院线发行。

尽管幕后存在严重的财务现实，但他坚持以伪纪录片的形式讲述这个故事，而不是以严肃的剧情片的形式。

“我觉得，如果不是一味地沉重压抑，信息就更容易传达，”41岁的图在新闻发布会上与其他演员一起接受采访时说道。“从某种程度上来说，这有点像是在耍手段。我们用喜剧来吸引你，这样你才能听到我们想要传达的信息。”

他最初是根据自己和哥哥在马来西亚开健身房的经历创作的剧本。

在发现 Sandbox 之后，他改编了故事并邀请吴恬敏出演，却并不知道这所学校当时正面临倒闭。“现实中学校的命运与电影里的情节如此相似，这完全是个不幸的巧合，”Thoo 说。

该片由 Brango Productions 和 Mocha Chai Laboratories 制作——电影制作方拒绝透露制作预算——资金来自私人支持者和 Income Insurance 的品牌赞助。

（从左至右）电影《沙盒》的编剧兼导演詹姆斯·图（James Thoo）以及演员本杰明·肯（Benjamin Kheng）、佩普斯·戈（Peps Goh）、内森·哈托诺（Nathan Hartono）、埃斯特尔·弗莱（Estelle Fly）和法兹·阿扎尔（Fauzi Azzhar）在特技学校关闭前举行的新闻发布会上。（海峡时报摄影：马克·张）

（从左至右）电影《沙盒》的编剧兼导演詹姆斯·图和演员本杰明·肯、佩普斯·戈、内森·哈托诺、埃斯特尔·弗莱和法兹·阿扎尔在特技学校关闭前举行的新闻发布会上。

《海峡时报》照片：张马克

图伊公开表示要对商业行为负责，不寻求政府资助，他解释说：“我不能指望政府资助我那部可能赚不到钱的电影。拍出一部足够好的电影，吸引人们观看，这是我的责任。”

就像他们在电影中扮演的特技学员一样，该片的主要演员告诉《星际迷航》，他们借鉴了自己作为独立创作者在经历职业挫折后重新振作的经历，来塑造角色。

肯格饰演乔什，一个妄自尊大的自封专家，认为自己无所不知。戏外，这位36岁的演员发现这部电影的设定与他自身经历非常契合。“在这个国家努力维系事物的生存，这个想法触动了我们所有人。它感觉非常真实。”

哈托诺饰演丹尼斯，一个过于认真对待特技工作的过度训练生。这位35岁的演员表示，在镜头前现场学习特技增加了真实感，并补充道：“电影中展现的很多学习过程都是实时进行的……你会摔得东倒西歪。”

沙盒明星（左起）Estelle Fly、Nathan Hartono、Benjamin Kheng、Fauzi Azzhar 和 Aaron Mossadeg。照片：摩卡柴实验室

沙盒明星（左起）Estelle Fly、Nathan Hartono、Benjamin Kheng、Fauzi Azzhar 和 Aaron Mossadeg。

埃斯特尔·弗莱饰演的卡西是个乐观开朗的人，她抱着试试看的态度尝试特技训练，并没有抱太大期望。她说，卡西的乐观精神反映了其他演员的艺术之路。“我们白手起家，怀揣着梦想和希望……我们用心创作，最终成就了美好的事物。”

饰演害怕冒险的角色Syafiq的内容创作者Fauzi表示，他的角色与自己的职业道路有相似之处。“在全职工作十年积累了一些积蓄之后，我才觉得准备好尝试全职内容创作和自由演员的工作。我认为这就是目前在新加坡从事艺术的现状。”

学校关闭后，吴先生表示他将暂时转行从事全职市场营销和广告工作。

尽管没有自己的实体空间，Sandbox 仍将继续承接项目式工作，例如为 2027 年新加坡国际艺术节联合执导舞台格斗部分，他们会租用外部工作室和排练场地。

Sandbox 明星（从左至右）Jon Cancio、Oon Shu An 和 Peps Goh。照片：MOCHA CHAI LABORATORIES

Sandbox 明星（从左至右）Jon Cancio、Oon Shu An 和 Peps Goh。

吴和他的团队也在台湾建立国际合作伙伴关系。

回顾他在 Sandbox 的历程，他毫无遗憾地反思了这段经历，并强调了承担风险的重要性。

“尝试很重要。我不想临终前后悔，‘如果我尝试了会怎样？’”

《沙盒》将于10月8日在新加坡影院上映。

电影节/奖项