Nepali film Elephants in the Fog makes history, wins Jury Prize at Cannes

Elephants in the Fog has scripted history by becoming the first Nepali film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. The film won the prestigious Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the festival’s 79th edition.

Written and directed by Abinash Bikram Shah in his feature directorial debut, the film had already made headlines as the first Nepali title to be selected in the Un Certain Regard section, a category that runs parallel to the Palme d'Or competition and celebrates bold storytelling and emerging cinematic voices.

Set in Thori, a forest village in Nepal’s southern Terai region, the film centres on the lives of transgender women living on the fringes of society.

According to the official synopsis, the story follows Pirati, the leader of a Kinnar community, who longs to leave behind her current life and start anew with the man she loves. However, her plans are disrupted when one of her daughters mysteriously disappears, forcing her to choose between personal freedom and her duty towards the community she leads.

Abinash Bikram Shah acceptance speech

Accepting the award on stage, Abinash Bikram Shah said that cinema has the ability to explore “the shadows.”

"For so long, the lives of Pirati and her daughters, the communities and all the persons, who are in the East, have been kept invisible. By bringing our story here and by recognising it with this award, we have pulled those margins into the light. We have made the invisible visible," he said, dedicating the honour to his team who also joined him at the event.

About Elephants in the Fog

Elephants in the Fog features Pushpa Thing, Deepika Yadav, Jasmine Bishwakarma, Shanti Giri, Gauri Malla, Maotse Gurung, Sanjay Gupta Dura, Mahima Nawabag and Akanksha Karki in key roles.

The film is a co-production between Nepali companies Underground Talkies Nepal and Jayanthi Creations, with partners from France, Germany, Brazil and Norway.