Nepal Celebrates Landmark Success at Cannes Film Festival

Elephants in the Fog has created cinematic history by becoming the first Nepali film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. The film received the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 79th edition of the globally acclaimed festival.

Written and directed by Abinash Bikram Shah in his feature film debut, Elephants in the Fog was also the first Nepali production ever selected for the Un Certain Regard section, which runs parallel to the Palme d’Or competition and showcases emerging filmmakers and unique storytelling voices.

Set in Thori, a forested village in Nepal’s southern Terai plains, the film follows the lives of transgender women living on the fringes of society. Through its intimate narrative and atmospheric storytelling, the movie explores themes of identity, exclusion, survival, and belonging within a conservative social environment.

The recognition at Cannes is being viewed as a landmark achievement for Nepali cinema and independent South Asian filmmaking. Film critics and festival observers have praised the movie for its sensitive portrayal of marginalised communities and its powerful visual storytelling.

The award is expected to bring greater international attention to Nepal’s emerging film industry and encourage wider global appreciation of stories rooted in South Asian regional realities and underrepresented voices.