Behind the Scenes Insights from The Way We Talk Post-Show Panel
- Phoebe Tay
- Aug 3
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 5
I had the honour of being a panellist alongside Angeline, a deaf illustrator, and Lisa, a deafblind advocate for the post-show discussion of The Way We Talk on Saturday, 26 July. We shared our personal experiences growing up deaf in Singapore and living abroad for a period of time - myself in Australia and the USA, Angeline in the USA, and Lisa in Japan.
Our responses to the very last question posed to all of us by Dr Wong, the moderator...
Dr Wong: One last question...so if you would say one thing to your 14-year-old self, what would it be?
Phoebe: So earlier, you said that none of us related to the character, Alan. So I really want to talk about Alan now. I don’t have a cochlear implant like him. I don’t wish I had a cochlear implant. What I do wish is that when I was 14 years old....My mum actually gave me the opportunity to learn sign language and brought me to a church with a deaf ministry that used SEE. But I told her I didn't want to. I got angry because I didn't want to learn sign language and I wanted to be like hearing people. So I left. I felt that Alan had the best of both worlds, learning sign language and having access to speech. And now that is me, I have access to both modalities. I feel comfortable switching between two modalities as well. It's like having the best of both worlds - hearing culture and deaf culture.
Angeline: So to my 14-year-old self.. I wish I could tell myself that it's really okay to be deaf. I don't have to struggle hard, to be like a hearing person, to be like everyone else because deafness is something that I did not choose to have. It’s important to be yourself.
Lisa: For myself, what I would like tell my 14-year-old self is to be brave. To believe what I can do. Ignore what other people are telling me, that I can't do. To ignore that and be brave and believe in myself.
Photo Credit: @Singaporefilmsociety
Overall, the panel discussion was a meaningful conversation that referenced themes from the film and took me on a journey down memory lane. The narratives that Angeline and Lisa shared about their lived experiences also resonated deeply with me.
But what many didn’t see was how this screening and post-show panel came together. From a chance invitation to watch the film in May, to the informal connections that gradually led to this public discussion, the rest of this post offers a glimpse into those behind-the-scenes moments that made the event possible.
I'm sharing this because a deaf person mistakenly thought I organised the event and approached me before the movie started to express her gratitude. I clarified the situation, explaining how everything came together, and gave the name of the actual organiser.
A Last-Minute Invitation That Sparked it All...
I am grateful to Mandy Cheung, a friend from Hong Kong who resides in Singapore, for inviting me to the movie on 2nd May during the Singapore Chinese Film Festival, after her friend had to cancel unexpectedly due to unforeseen circumstances. There were two screenings that evening, and I was thrilled to join her for the 7pm one. Her invitation was pivotal, as it set the stage for everything that followed. Had she not invited me that night, I wouldn't have known about it, nor would others.
After accepting Mandy's invitation, I shared information about the film across several WhatsApp and Telegram group chats. A few people purchased tickets for the later 8:30 pm screening since the 7pm one was full. Some were interested but couldn't make it and expressed their wish for another screening in the future.
One of those who attended the 8:30 PM screening was my friend, Alvan, who went with a few of his friends. At that screening, Sally Wu, Secretary and Head of Partnerships at the Singapore Film Society (SFS), approached him to explore the possibility of a future collaboration. Alvan later said in our WhatsApp group:
“I wish to specifically thank Sally for approaching me and SADeaf to collaborate on this. It was indeed our good fortune to bump into each other at the first run of the film!”
After that initial meeting, Alvan then went on to coordinate many behind-the-scenes efforts, including inviting panelists, liaising with partners, and ensuring accessibility through notetakers and sign language interpreters.
Acknowledgements
Kudos to Adam Wong, the film director and co-writer, along with the outstanding cast for creating such a remarkable film that raises deaf awareness among the general public. What an incredible feat! I'm pleased that the film, despite being in Hong Kong Sign Language and Cantonese with English subtitles, reached our shores.
A heartfelt thank you to:
Angeline Chen (www.ziyuechen.com) and Lisa Loh for being panellists alongside me.
Sally Wu, Secretary and Head of Partnerships at SFS for initiating the collaboration,
Dr. Lung-Hsiang Wong, Senior Education Research Scientist from the National Institute of Education, for moderating the panel,
Alvan Yap, Assistant Director at the Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) for his tireless coordination,
Timothy Loh, Janis Wong and Daniel Tung, community interpreters, along with Grace Tan and Celine Ong, notetakers from SADeaf, who played a crucial role in providing accessibility services for the event.
Ong Kah Jin (OKJ), General Operations Manager at SFS, for the event photos and adapting operations to meet our accessibility needs.
I’m also thankful for the connections forged through WhatsApp group chats in the lead-up to the event with all the aforementioned individuals who were involved. The pre-event lunch meeting with our assigned interpreters was also invaluable in helping us prepare and establish rapport.
And finally, a special shoutout to Ye Jia Wei for sharing the kind message and photo below in our Telegram group chat the day after the panel. Your encouragement means a lot. Thank you, friend!
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