Nepali cinema marked a historic breakthrough at the 79th Cannes Film Festival as Elephants in the Fog (Tiniharu), directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, became the first Nepali feature film to win a major prize at the festival. The film took home the Jury Prize in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section, a sidebar known for spotlighting bold and emerging cinematic voices.
The achievement comes weeks after the film had already made headlines by becoming the first-ever Nepali feature selected for Cannes’ official Un Certain Regard programme, often considered the festival’s second-most prestigious section after the main competition.
Written and directed by Shah in his feature debut, Elephants in the Fog centres on a Kinnar (transgender) community in rural Nepal, following a matriarch torn between love and responsibility while searching for a missing member of her community. The film blends social realism with thriller elements and was praised for its sensitive portrayal of marginalised lives.
The film premiered at Cannes to strong reactions, reportedly receiving extended applause after its screening and drawing praise from filmmakers across South Asia. It is an international co-production between Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil and Norway, reflecting the increasingly global ambitions of Nepali independent cinema.
For Nepal, the moment represents more than festival recognition. It signals the arrival of a national cinema long underrepresented on the global stage. Earlier Nepali films had screened at major festivals, but Cannes had remained out of reach for feature films until now. Elephants in the Fog changes that narrative decisively.
Why it matters: Cannes has historically shaped the global arthouse conversation. A breakthrough here not only raises the profile of Nepali filmmakers but also opens pathways for funding, co-productions and international distribution for a cinema industry that has often existed at the margins of world film culture.
