Nisay (Sopheanith Thong) returns home to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, after the death of her father. The years away have changed her, as she went from struggling actress in her homeland to a new life in New York City. But returning to Cambodia is more than burying her father; it’s about reuniting with her old flame, Thida (Deka Nine). In the late director Yuqing Lai’s debut—and ultimately final—feature, Nisay navigates love and longing through the naturalistic lens of a rainy city. Playing at the Slamdance Film Festival 2026, Whispers of the Moon is an artistic, true-to-life portrayal of queer love under the weight of societal pressure.
Whispers of the Moon is non-linear in structure. Despite three chapters focusing on the narrative, scenes shift between Nisay and Thida as young lovers, Nisay preparing for a life in New York City, and Nisay returning to Cambodia in the wake of her father’s passing. The contrast between Nisay and Thida from the start of their love to the present expands the story, adding to the longing between the two former lovers. Nisay now lives immersed in another culture and is defined by her love of the stage, while Thida is now married and has a daughter. The two women have spent the last several years drifting apart, not just in distance but in life experience. Yet, the pull of earnest desire lingers, allowing Nisay’s story of grief and rekindled longing to rise above familiar romantic tropes.
Naturalistic performances thrive through the leads in Whispers of the Moon. The dialogue is without polish, quips, or tailored monologues hammering the thesis. It’s a grounded reality, reflecting the melancholy of characters hoping for a future that will never come to pass. Thong and Nine have effortless chemistry, yet restrain it in later scenes to convey the closeness once felt by their characters and the question of whether that closeness could return. So much of Thong and Nine’s performances is through the eyes; the glances that linger, the tears that almost break, the smiles that fade at just the right time. Whispers of the Moon is also the debut film for Thong and Nine, but each performer carries the weight of each line or expression like a veteran. Themes of queerness, coping, and mourning a memory of love are elevated by the rawness of Thong and Nine pouring everything into Nisay and Thida.
Yuqing Lai draws on influences from across the cinematic landscape in all her work, especially in Whispers of the Moon. The cinema vérité ethos and meta-commentary on acting feel straight out of Irma Vep. Nisay and Thida’s carnival montage pays homage to Gen X indies with the neon rain of a Wong Kar-wai film. There are pieces of Y Tu Mamá También, French New Wave, and even a little of Doug Liman’s Go. Yet these influences never overwhelm Lai’s voice. All funneled through a uniquely queer and Cambodian lens, Whispers of the Moon is an artful look at love through memory. Lai draws inspiration from some of the most interesting takes on love across filmmaking, but grounds them in the context of a return home and, to raise the stakes, a return to the fading past and a fading future.
The passing of Yuqing Lai in January 2025 adds a layer to Whispers of the Moon that is already in the subtext. Themes of beauty in the sorrow, in the sweet, and reality bleeding into memory permeate the film. Lai and her team take pieces of classic world cinema but recontextualize them to enrich a personal tale of heartache. Whispers of the Moon may seem unconventional in story structure, the shaky cam could alienate, and plot purists will find the story points jarring. However, what alienates some will endear others to the evolving, evocative character piece put forth by Yuqing Lai. The film is picture-perfect for the Slamdance stage and carries a weight made for cinephiles. In her first—and final—feature, Lai leaves behind a film unmistakably her own and marking a too-brief but bright legacy at the Slamdance Film Festival.
