Utama - Every Name In History Is I is a film about the founding of Singapore. In the indigenous Malay tongue, ‘Singa’ means lion, while ‘pore’ is derived from the word ‘pura’, or city. In official accounts of its history, Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, as part of the British colonial empire. However, virtually little is known about the other, pre-colonial founder of Singapore, who is believed to have founded Singapore sometime between the 13th and 14th century. Commonly referred to as Sang Nila Utama, regarded as the ‘first’ king of the Malays and said to be heir to a glorious lineage of great kings and immortals, Utama was said to have given Singapore its name after encountering a lion along its shores. This anecdote has often been questioned because lions are not a species indigenous to this area.