Director of queer drama Whisperings of the Moon dies aged 23 in ‘incident’

Lai Yuqing, best known as the writer and director of 2025 queer drama feature film Whisperings of the Moon, has died aged 23 in an “incident” in Cambodia. 

The young film director, who used both she and they pronouns according to her Instagram page, died in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on 30 December, according to a statement from the production companies behind Whisperings of the Moon.

“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,” Nimbus Films and Inwave Films said in a statement shared with Variety.

“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 Yuqing became known in the cinephile circuit for their short films Two Suns and Love Is a Book, released in 2024 and 2025 respectively, before making their debut feature, Whisperings of the Moon.

The Khmer and English-language movie centred on a queer relationship between a theatre actress named Nisay and her former lover Thida, who reconnect after the death of Nisay’s father.

“On stage, their love finds its fullest expression but in life, they must navigate bittersweet goodbyes,” reads an official synopsis of the film.

On Instagram, Yuqing described the movie as one “about love and separation”.

“Over the years, I’ve held onto many beautiful, bittersweet, and rich experiences. At a moment when I felt compelled to make this film, with the help of love and opportunities, this intimate piece came to life,” she wrote.

“It carries the courage we hold onto – to be honest, to create, and to love – regardless of the outcome.”

Whisperings of the Moon was included in the line-up of the 30th Busan International Film Festival, which took place in South Korea in September.

In their joint statement, Nimbus Films and Inwave Films praised the way Yuqing “looked at the world” with “rare sensitivity and honesty, marked by a calm, luminous intensity”.

“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 production companies added that they were “devastated” by her death and would continue to support Whisperings of the Moon following her passing.

In addition to their filmmaking, Lai Yuqing was known as an actor and musician, having appeared in the 2024 short film Notes of a Crocodile, which was on the line-up at the Toronto International Film Festival that year.