Playback: Our Singapore Stories23 Aug 2025 to 23 Aug 2025

As Singapore celebrates 60 years of independence this year, Playback: Our Singapore Stories is an exclusive one-of-a-kind evening which invites people to reflect on the nation’s identity through the voices of its storytellers. In a unique collaboration between Penguin SEA and The Projector, this curated evening brings together the worlds of literature and cinema to examine how memory, culture, and personal histories shape the shared imagination of Singapore.

At the heart of the evening is a screening of Ilo Ilo (2013), the landmark debut film by Anthony Chen that stirred national conversation on family, belonging, and change. The screening will be followed by a thought-provoking panel featuring authors and artists whose work speaks to the spirit of Singapore—past, present, and future. In a year where the nation looks back and ahead, this programme invites audiences to reimagine Singapore through the intimate lens of story and screen: to remember, to question, and to dream anew.