''Sand Castles'' is a 2014 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Clenét Verdi-Rose and starring

Jordon Hodges Jordon Hodges (born March 2, 1987) is an American actor, screenwriter and producer known for his role as Noah Daly in the 2014 drama film '' Sand Castles''. Early life Jordon Hodges was born in Goshen, Indiana and attended Northridge High Scho ...

and Anne Winters. It co-stars Randy Spence, Saxon Trainor, Daniella Grace, Scott Jemison, and

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such as ...

. Filming took place in

Goshen, Indiana Goshen ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka ...

and

St. Joseph, Michigan St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,365. It lies on the shore o ...

in October 2012. The film had its world premiere on March 21, 2014 at the

Gasparilla Film Festival Gasparilla International Film Festival (GIFF, stylized as gịff) is an annual independent film festival that takes place in Tampa Bay, Florida. The festival is run by the Tampa Film Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing film ...

, where it won the Grand Jury Prize in the festival's New Visions Competition. The film had its

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

release by

MarVista Entertainment MarVista Entertainment is an American production company, based in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. The company mainly provides financing and some original content, mainly made-for-TV films and direct-to-SVOD titles, many of which are carried b ...

on February 16, 2016.

Premise

In rural Indiana, Noah Daly (

) and his impoverished family wrestle with the mysterious return of his now mute sister Lauren ( Anne Winters), who was kidnapped and held captive for over a decade.

Cast

as Noah Daly * Anne Winters as Lauren Daly * Randy Spence as Tommy Daly * Saxon Trainor as Marie Daly * Daniella Grace as Alison Paige * Scott Jemison as Detective Cloud *

as Todd Carlson * Joe Cipriano as Young Noah Daly

Reception

''Sand Castles'' received widespread critical acclaim while playing on the film festival circuit. Critic David Appleford of Valley Screen and Stage gave the film a glowing review, writing: "Backed by an outstanding, atmospheric score from musician Todd Maki and solid performances from Hodges, Trainor and Spence, plus an effective appearance from

whose somewhat creepy presence only adds to the overall mystery of Lauren's kidnapper, director Clenét Verdi-Rose has delivered a feature that needs to venture further than the confines of the festival circuit." Views on Film gave a "thumbs up" rating the film 3 out of 4 stars and calling it "powerful" while singling out praise for the performances of

, Randy Spence and

. The review site placed ''Sand Castles'' on its "Top Ten Movie Picks for 2014". Film Pulse gave an overall good review of the film saying "the film has been well-received at numerous festivals including the winning of several awards, and I admit that I can understand why." The ''

Reading Eagle The ''Reading Eagle'' is the major daily newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania. A family-owned newspaper until the spring of 2019, its reported circulation is 37,000 (daily) and 50,000 (Sundays). It serves the Reading and Berks County region of Pe ...

'' gave a mixed review for ''Sand Castles'', criticizing it for its "gratuitous, insufficiently established romance" while also writing that the film "deserves credit for sustaining its empathy for ordinary people blindsided by fate" and praising the performances of Saxon Trainor and

. rCritic Herbert Paine of BroadwayWorld.com gave a completely positive review for ''Sand Castles'', labeling it a "haunting and powerful film", while calling the performance of Anne Winters "stunning". Bradley Smith of Red Carpet Crash says, "Sand Castles is an interesting, emotional roller coaster."

Awards

*Feature Film Award of Merit at the Catalina Film Festival (2014, won) *Best Feature Film at the

Cincinnati Film Festival The Cincinnati Film Festival is a yearly cultural event and international film competition held in Cincinnati, Ohio, supporting surrounding tri-state region. Since 2010, the all-volunteer staff had screened over 1000 submitted films from 36 count ...

(2014, won) *Best Feature Film at the

Gasparilla International Film Festival Gasparilla International Film Festival (GIFF, stylized as gịff) is an annual independent film festival that takes place in Tampa Bay area, Tampa Bay, Florida. The festival is run by the Tampa Film Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated t ...

(2014, won) *Best Feature at the Grand Rapids Film Festival (2014, won) *Leonardo's Horse for Best Ensemble Cast at the Milano International Film Festival Awards (2014, won) *Best Actor at the Myrtle Beach International Film Festival (2014, won – Randy Spence) *Best Feature Film at the Myrtle Beach International Film Festival (2014, won) *Domani Vision Award for Best Lead Actor at the New York Visionfest (2014, won –

) *Abe Schrager Cinematography Award at the New York Visionfest (2014, won – Chris Faulisi) *Best Feature Film at the Rainier Independent Film Festival (2014, won) *Audience Choice at the River Bend Film Festival (2014, won) *Best Feature at the River Bend Film Festival (2014, won) *Best Narrative Feature at the Hoosierdance International Film Festival (2015, won)

References

External links

* * * * *
Review at Valley Screen and Stage

Review at Broadway World

Review at Film Pulse

Clenet Verdi-Rose Emerges As A Film Director
at IO Cape Cod {{DEFAULTSORT:Sand Castles 2014 drama films 2014 films 2014 independent films American drama films American independent films Films shot in Indiana Films shot in Michigan Films set in Indiana 2010s English-language films 2010s American films