Christine Hakim - the most prestigious actor in Indonesia - stars in and co-produces this rites-of-passage feature. Set in the stark landscapes of East Java, the film's concern is the mother-daughter relationship of Daya and Berlian (Hakim), a midwife and herbal medicine vendor. A spate of murders forces the pair to flee to the desert sands where Daya dreams of seeing her father Agus again, a dream that eventually comes true when he returns penniless. Agus boasts of his travels, but his involvement with a loan shark threatens to dissolve Daya's dream world.

Whispering Sands marks a significant point in the revitalisation of Indonesian film industry - only recently re-emerging after a slump in the late 80s. Director Nan Achnas has built her strong female lead characters from the real lives she explored as a documentary maker in the East Java deserts.

Christine Hakim is a guest of the Festival

Nan T. Achnas won the Grand Prix at the 1988 Asian Young Cinema Film Festival in Tokyo with her graduation film, The Only Day. She was a co-director of Kuldesak (1999). Whispering Sands is her debut feature.