Nepali feature film ‘Elephants in the Fog’ has become the first film from Nepal to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival, taking home the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 79th edition of the festival in Cannes.
Written and directed by Abinash Bikram Shah in his feature directorial debut, the film was also the first Nepali production selected for the Un Certain Regard section, which runs alongside the Palme d’Or competition and focuses on emerging filmmakers and distinctive storytelling voices.
Set in Thori, a forest village in Nepal’s southern Terai plains, the film follows the lives of transgender women living on the fringes of society. The story centres on Pirati, the matriarch of a Kinnar community, who dreams of escaping with the man she loves. Her plans are disrupted when one of her daughters disappears, forcing her to choose between personal freedom and responsibility towards her community.
During his acceptance speech, Shah said cinema has the ability to “look into the shadows”. Joined on stage by the cast, he added: “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.”
The film stars Pushpa Thing, Deepika Yadav, Jasmine Bishwakarma, Shanti Giri, Gauri Malla, Maotse Gurung, Sanjay Gupta Dura, Mahima Nawabag and Akanksha Karki.
Elephants in the Fog is a co-production between Nepali companies Underground Talkies Nepal and Jayanthi Creations, alongside partners from France, Germany, Brazil and Norway.
Shah previously received a Special Mention at the 75th Cannes Film Festival for his short film Lori, marking the first time a Nepali short film earned that recognition. His earlier writing credits include ‘Kalo Pothi’, ‘Highway’ and ‘Tatini’, all of which screened at international festivals.
The top Un Certain Regard award went to Austrian director Sandra Wollner for Everytime, while the Special Jury Prize was awarded to Louis Clichy for the animated feature ‘Iron Boy’.
Best Actor was awarded to Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset for Congo Boy, while the Best Actress prize was jointly shared by Marina de Tavira, Daniela Marin Navarro and Mariangel Villegas for their performances in ‘Forever Your Maternal Animal’ (Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno).
