Elephants in the Fog enters Un Certain Regard

Abinash Bikram Shah’s “Elephants in the Fog” arrived at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival as the first Nepali film selected for Un Certain Regard, according to Cannes’ official selection list and Shah’s interview with Variety published on May 17. The feature is Shah’s directorial debut and follows his 2022 short “Lori,” which received a Special Mention in Cannes’ short film competition. Cannes included the film in the Un Certain Regard lineup it published on April 9 and updated on April 23. Variety reported that Shah traced the project’s origin to Nepal’s pandemic lockdown period, when he watched TikTok videos posted by members of the country’s Kinnar community. Shah said the contrast between the videos’ joy and the hostility in their comment sections became the first spark for the screenplay. He told Variety that the film’s Cannes berth brought both pride and pressure because the story centers on a trans woman and he wanted to know “how honestly” he had told it. (festival-cannes.com) ### How did the film begin? Shah told Variety that TikTok, not a film market or lab, first pushed him toward the story. In the interview published May 17, he said he kept watching videos by Kinnars — a third-gender community in Nepal — and was struck that they continued posting despite abusive comments. That observation became the basis for “Elephants in the Fog,” he said. (variety.com) Cineuropa reported that the project later moved through more conventional development channels, including Busan’s Asian Project Market in 2021, the Oxbelly Lab in 2022, the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab in 2023 and Venice’s Gap-Financing Market in 2023. The outlet also said the film received a €40,000 production grant from the World Cinema Fund and a €30,000 post-production services award in Hamburg. (variety.com) ### What is the film about? “Elephants in the Fog” is set in Thori in Nepal’s southern Terai plains, according to Variety. The story centers on Pirati, the matriarch of a small Kinnar household, as wild elephants raid village crops and one of her daughters disappears. Variety said Pirati must investigate after police fail to act. (cineuropa.org) Variety’s May 13 report on the film’s first distribution deals described it as a thriller about a Kinnar community leader torn between a romantic relationship and her responsibility to her family after the disappearance. Cannes’ official selection list identifies it as Shah’s first feature. ### Who is in the film and who made it? (variety.com) Pushpa Thing Lama emerged as a key figure in the project after Shah met her at a community function, Variety reported. Shah told the publication that Lama, an LGBTQIA+ rights advocate who has worked with Blue Diamond Society Nepal since 2006, had never acted before he cast her. (variety.com) The Kathmandu Post listed the cast as including Pushpa Thing, Deepika Yadav, Jasmine Bishwakarma, Shanti Giri, Gauri Malla, Maotse Gurung, Sanjay Gupta Dura, Mahima Nawabag and Akanksha Karki. Variety reported that the film was produced by Underground Talkies Nepal, Les Valseurs and Die Gesellschaft DGS, with co-producers in Brazil, France, Germany, Nepal and Norway. (variety.com) ### How does this fit into Shah’s career? “Lori” gave Shah his first Cannes recognition in 2022, and the Kathmandu Post said he had described a return to Cannes with a feature as a personal goal. Variety and Cineuropa both noted that Shah also co-wrote Min Bahadur Bham’s “Shambhala,” which screened in competition at the Berlin film festival in 2024. (kathmandupost.com) Cineuropa also placed Shah within a wider run of festival work from Nepal, citing his writing credits on “Highway” and other internationally screened films. Shah told Variety he sees himself primarily as a writer and directs when a story feels close enough to require it. ### What happens next at Cannes and beyond? Cannes’ official 2026 selection list places “Elephants in the Fog” in Un Certain Regard during the festival’s May 12-23 run on the Croisette. (kathmandupost.com) The Kathmandu Post reported the film is competing for the section’s top prize, best director and jury prize. Variety reported on May 13 that the film had already secured distribution deals before its Cannes launch. (cineuropa.org) Best Friend Forever is handling international sales, while Arizona Distribution and Les Valseurs Distribution will co-distribute in France, missingFILMs acquired Germany and Austria, Imovision took Brazil, and The Tea Folks Films will handle Nepal. (variety.com) (festival-cannes.com)