#FIRSTLOOK: TVO ORIGINAL “THE SANDBOX” PREMIERING AT HOT DOCS 2026

TVO Original The Sandbox—director Kenya-Jade Pinto’s debut feature—exposes the global machinery of surveillance and its devastating human cost. Spanning the deserts of Arizona, to high-tech refugee camps in Greece, Mediterranean rescue operations, and digital labour centers in East Africa, this visually daring, conceptually bold film invites us to see and feel the unsettling reach of borders that have been transformed into dystopian laboratories. This is a world where human lives are raw material for observation, experimentation, and control–and there’s no opting out.

Fresh off its sold-out world premiere at CPH: DOX, The Sandbox will make its North American premiere in the Official Selection, as part of the Digital Witnesses programme at the 2026 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival, taking place from April 23 – May 3, 2026, ahead of its broadcast and digital premiere on TVO in early 2027.

32nd Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival

                 ★★★★ (4 out of 4 stars)              ★★★★ (4 out of 4 stars)
                                      Variety                             Little White Lies                              

Runtime: 90 mins

Languages: English, Arabic, Greek, Somali

Country of Production: Canada

Countries of Filming: Canada, USA, Greece, Italy, Germany, Kenya, South Africa

Screening Times:

April 25, 2026 – 8:00 PM TIFF Cinemas 1
MAY 2, 2026 – 11:00 AM Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
Produced by Shasha Nakhai and Kenya-Jade Pinto, TVO Original THE SANDBOX is executive produced by Rich Williamson, Bob Moore and Jennifer Baichwal, with Shane Smith as Production Executive and Alexandra Roberts as Commissioning Editor, TVO Docs. Presented by EyeSteelFilm and TVO, the film is a Compy Films production, produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates and in association with Ford Foundation JustFilms.