Nepali Film ‘Elephants in the Fog’ Selected for Cannes Film Festival

The Nepali feature film ‘Elephants in the Fog’ has been selected for the ‘Un Certain Regard’ category of the world-renowned 79th Cannes Film Festival. According to the production team, this marks a historic presence for Nepali cinema on the international stage.

Written and directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, the film was produced in collaboration between Underground Talkies Nepal and Jayanti Creations. Production companies from France, Germany, Brazil, and Norway also collaborated on the project. The film presents the story of a family from a minority community living in a settlement affected by the terror of wild elephants.

Featuring a story that captures rural reality and social sensitivity, the film stars Gauri Malla, Maotse Gurung, Shanti Giri, Sanjay Gupta Dura, Mahima Nabbag, and Ashant Sharma, alongside new faces.

Anup Poudel is the producer from Underground Talkies Nepal, while Kumudini Gurung Shrestha, Soham Dhakal, and Prachanda Man Shrestha are involved as producers from Jayanti Creations. Filmmakers including Min Bahadur Bham, Prabesh Gurung, Keki Adhikari, and Prateek Subedi have also supported the production.

Director Shah has previously established an identity in the Nepali film sector by winning an award at Cannes for his short film ‘Lori.’ Shah, who was the screenwriter for acclaimed films like ‘Kalo Pothi’ (The Black Hen) and ‘Shambhala,’ is making his directorial feature debut with this film.

The cinematography is handled by Noé Bach and Cyril, while editing is by Andrew Bird and Paris Burjan. The production side stated that an international team was involved in sound, music, art direction, and other technical aspects.

This year’s Cannes will begin on May 12. The opening session is scheduled to feature ‘The Electric Kiss,’ a comedy directed by Pierre Salvadori set in the 1920s. The festival’s jury will be led by renowned South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook. It has also been announced that Barbra Streisand and Peter Jackson will be honored with the Honorary Palme d'Or this year.

In the nearly six-decade-long history of Nepali cinema, this is reportedly the first film to be officially selected for the Cannes Festival. Sharing this achievement with the Nepali film industry and audience, the production team expressed its commitment to presenting even more powerful Nepali stories in the future.