His international début was made in the Berlin Film Festival, when Indonesia was in the middle of a crisis lasting for the whole 1990s decade. Garin grew alone as the avant garde of Indonesian cinema. His films obtained access to festivals such as those in Berlin, Cannes, Tokyo and many others. Among his works we recall Letter to an Angel (1993), And the Moon Dances (1995), Fipresci and Netpac Prize at the 1995 Berlin Film Festival, and Leaf on a Pillow (1997), “Un Certain Regard” award at the 1998 Cannes International Film Festival and The Poet (1999).