Overview
- Elephants in the Fog won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize on Saturday, May 23, 2026, becoming the first film from Nepal to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
- The film is the feature debut of writer‑director Abinash Bikram Shah and follows Pirati, the matriarch of a Kinnar (transgender) community whose daughter disappears and whose personal desires clash with communal duties.
- The project was built through prolonged, community‑based workshops and is an international co‑production led by Nepali companies Underground Talkies Nepal and Jayanthi Creations with partners in France, Germany, Brazil and Norway.
- Critics at Cannes highlighted Pushpa Thing Lama’s central performance and the film’s blend of sociopolitical themes and local ritual, and Shah accepted the prize on stage dedicating it to his team as a way to make ‘invisible’ lives visible.
- The winning team returned to Kathmandu on Monday, May 25, 2026, received official felicitations and a government cash award, and the film now has international sales representation that could boost distribution and attention for Nepali cinema.