Elephants in the Fog brings Cannes-winning story to Nepali cinemas

Kathmandu, September 10, 2026 — Elephants in the Fog, the Nepali feature film that won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, is now being screened in cinemas across Nepal, bringing director Abinash Bikram Shah’s debut feature to domestic audiences.

Also known by its Nepali title Tiniharu (तिनीहरू), the 103-minute film was released in Nepal on September 4. It is a Nepal-France-Germany-Brazil-Norway co-production and was the first Nepali feature film selected for the official Cannes programme.

The story is set in a remote Nepali village surrounded by a forest inhabited by wild elephants. At its centre is Pirati, the matriarch of a Kinnar community, who wants to leave the village and begin a new life with the man she loves. Her plans are disrupted when one of the women in her community disappears, forcing her to investigate while weighing her personal desire for freedom against her responsibility to the community.

Through the disappearance, the film explores questions of identity, social exclusion, community, gender and personal freedom. The surrounding forest and the presence of wild elephants add another layer of uncertainty to a story in which the characters must confront both external dangers and tensions within their own community.

Pushpa Thing Lama plays Pirati, with Deepika Yadav, Jasmine Bishwokarma and Aliz Ghimire among the cast. The Cannes credits also list Dol Bahadur Sharma, Aashant Sharma and Sanjay Gupta. Shah wrote and directed the film, while Noé Bach handled cinematography, Mausam Agrawal production design, Frédéric Alvarez music, Andrew Bird editing and Pedro Sá Earp sound.