If staying home to sing HOME is all you want to do this National Day, why not stream these homegrown films that tell the real Singapore story, not the Crazy Rich Asians version. Plus, you’ll be supporting local productions too!
Singapore isn’t exactly known for its film industry but homegrown movies about Singapore have made real waves internationally. Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes in 2013 — the first Singaporean film to do so — Yeo Siew Hua’s A Land Imagined took home the Golden Leopard at Locarno in 2018, and Chen’s upcoming We Are All Strangers is the first local film selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival 2026.
These local movies show life in Singapore that’s a world away from Crazy Rich Asians. They capture the nuances of our culture and society, portraying everyday struggles that’s real and familiar to many of us. Take this as an invitation to step back and witness life in Singapore through the lens of homegrown cinema. In taking that pause, we realise, reflect, and perhaps gain a deeper awareness of the society we call home. Happy National Day!
I Not Stupid (2002), I Not Stupid Too (2006) and I Not Stupid 3 (2024)
Rating: PG | Runtime: from 105 min | Streaming on: Netflix, meWatch
There’s nothing stupid about Jack Neo’s I Not Stupid series. It’s a comical satire on policies and a hard mirror held up to the expectations placed on our children. The first installation, I Not Stupid (2002) follows three boys from EM3-stream (a less demanding curriculum under the former streaming system) as they navigate the pressure of Singapore’s education system, parents’ expectations, while growing up as 12-year-olds in Singapore.
Riding on the record-breaking box-office success of I Not Stupid (2002), Jack Neo followed up with I Not Stupid Too (2006), shifting focus from academic pressure to parent-child and peer relationships. The standalone sequel takes aim at “absent parenting,” capturing an era when parents caught up in work and survival grew distant from their own kids.
The newest instalment I Not Stupid 3 (2024), turns the spotlight onto parental competitiveness during their kids’ PSLE years. That pressure trickles down to the children, who learn to chase being “number one”, even if it means cheating.
Why watch:
Twenty years on, this comedy-drama series still hits home because these are issues woven into the fabric of our society and mindset. The education system is evolving, but every generation of parents wants only the best for their kids. To what end, though? Makes great conversation starters, watch with your kids.
Ah Boys to Men (2012) and Ah Boys to Men 2 (2013)
Rating: PG13 (mild crude humour) | Runtime: ~110 min each | Streaming on: Netflix, meWatch
Serving National Service is a rite of passage for boys in Singapore and Ah Boys to Men is the local movie to watch to prepare your kids for that stage in life. As recruits from all walks of life muddle through National Service, the audience follow their journey from Basic Military Training to their ORD (Operationally Ready Date), exploring relationship dynamics both in and out of camp. True to Jack Neo’s style, the film doesn’t shy away from socially relatable issues, such as the “White Horse”.
Why watch:
It’s the definitive NS rite-of-passage story. Best to watch with tweens and up, and a fun one for dads to watch with their kids and reminisce. Watch it on National Day and you might have a little more appreciation for the NS men involved in the event.
Ilo Ilo (2013)
Rating: PG | Runtime: ~99 min | Streaming on: Apple TV, Netflix
Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen marked Singapore’s first-ever win at Cannes, taking home the Caméra d’Or in 2013. Set during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the story follows a young boy who forms an unexpected bond with his family’s domestic helper. Even though she’s hired to help, her presence ends up straining the family’s already fragile relationships further.
Why watch:
The film is a beautiful entry point for talking about empathy, gratitude, and family under financial strain. It also raises a real issue — our reliance on foreign domestic helpers, and how they can end up more present in our children’s lives than we are. It’s the struggle between needing to work and wanting to build a relationship with your own child.
The film moves at a slow, emotional pace, best watched with kids aged nine and above.
Ilo Ilo is currently running at Golden Village cinemas for a limited time leading to the launch of We are All Strangers by the same director.
Homerun (2003)
Rating: PG | Runtime: ~108 min | Streaming on: meWatch
Homerun is Jack Neo’s local adaptation of the Iranian classic Children of Heaven, transplanted onto the soil of 1965 Singapore, on the brink of separation from Malaysia. Set in a kampung, the story follows a boy who loses his sister’s only pair of shoes, forcing the siblings into a secret pact of sharing the one remaining pair between them. Behind their shoe-sharing adventures runs a quiet allegory for Singapore’s own separation, embodying the wider struggles of poverty, class divide, and a race for survival.
Why watch:
Bring the tissues, this one brings the tears. A tender look at what growing up looked like for the Merdeka Generation (or your kids’ grandparents). It’s a fitting watch for National Day as a quiet reminder of how far we’ve come as a nation.
881 (2007)
Rating: PG | Runtime: 105 min | Streaming on: Netflix, HBO Max
Come the seventh lunar month, Singapore’s heartlands light up with vibrant getai performances celebrating the Hungry Ghost Festival — a tradition that livens up the neighbourhood like nothing else. In Royston Tan’s 881, this riotous musical follows two childhood friends whose dreams of making it big on the getai stage come true when they’re blessed with powerful voices. Watch them rise to fame and go head-to-head with a jealous rival group in an all-out musical showdown.
Why watch:
Colourful, campy, and genuinely moving underneath all the sequins, this film is a fun way to introduce the kids to getai culture. And it might just get you into a celebratory mood too!
Army Daze (1996)
Rating: PG | Runtime: ~90 min | Streaming on: Netflix, meWatch
This is the OG coming of age NS comedy starring five recruits in their Basic Military Training and lots of humour.
Why watch:
For those entering NS soon, this is a nice way to show how the NS story has (and hasn’t) changed on and off screen over the decades.
NEW: We Are All Strangers (我们不是陌生人)
Rating: PG13 | Runtime: 157 min | Screening at: Golden Village cinemas from 20 August 2026
We Are All Strangers completes Anthony Chen’s “Growing Up in Singapore” trilogy, following Ilo Ilo (2013) and Wet Season (2019), and it’s the first Singaporean film ever selected to compete for the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2026. Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler, the two lead actors from the previous films, return with new ties in an intergenerational family. Through a series of unexpected but very real situations, the film moves through themes of hope, love, and the unexpected bonds that form between its characters
Why watch:
Not one for the little ones, but a great watch for teens and adults, maybe even a lesson in cause and consequence. And you’ve got to love the cinematography, turning our heartlands, even a simple bus ride, into something cinematic but keeping it real.
What will you be watching this National Day?
