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Lai Yuqing, the writer-director of the queer love story “Whisperings of the Moon,” has died in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She was 23.
Nimbus Films and Inwave Films, which backed “Whisperings of the Moon” alongside Mirage Films, said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened to share that filmmaker Lai Yuqing, writer-director of ‘Whisperings of the Moon,’ with whom we had the privilege of working, has left us at the age of 23.”
The statement added that Lai “passed away due to an incident on Dec. 30, 2025. The case is still under investigation and her family is at Phnom Penh preparing her funeral as well as working closely with local authorities. Details of the incident haven’t been released yet but her family will make an official announcement once the case is resolved.”
Born in Tianjin, China, Lai studied in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. Her feature debut, “Whisperings of the Moon,” is set in Phnom Penh and follows a theater actor who returns home after her father’s death and reconnects with a former lover, tracing a bittersweet relationship shaped by memory, performance and social constraint.
Lai’s earlier work included the short films “Two Suns” (2024) and “Love Is a Book” (2024). “Whisperings of the Moon” grew directly out of “Love Is a Book,” which explored similar emotional terrain and led to the development of the feature.
“Whisperings of the Moon” was produced by Esther Li, Siddartha Jatla and Lily Yang, and mounted as an international co-production spanning Cambodia and multiple Asian territories. The film was selected for the 30th Busan International Film Festival in 2025, with international sales handled by Inwave Films.
“Yuqing’s talent lives on in her images, in the way she looked at the world: with rare sensitivity and honesty, marked by a calm, luminous intensity,” Nimbus and Inwave said. “In ‘Whisperings of the Moon,’ as in the other work she left behind, she was already shaping intimate, quietly powerful worlds, attentive to the smallest gestures and to the silences between people. A singular voice was just beginning to emerge.”
The film starred first-time actors Sopheanith Thong and Deka Nine, whom she met while working with students at Cambodia’s Acting Art Academy.
“We are devastated by her departure,” the statement continued. “Our thoughts are with her family, her loved ones, and all who were close to her. We send them our deepest condolences.”
Nimbus and Inwave said they will continue to support “Whisperings of the Moon” with care and respect so that Yuqing’s work and voice can continue to be seen and heard around the world.
“We will not forget her,” the companies said. “Rest in peace, Yuqing.”
English (US) ·