Elephants In The Fog is chosen by Nepal for the Best International Feature Oscar race.
Abinash Bikram Shah's debut feature won big at Cannes, including a Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard.
The film is in its second week of theatrical run in Nepal.
Abinash Bikram Shah's Cannes winning debut Elephants in the Fog has been selected to represent Nepal in the Best International Feature Film race at the 99th Academy Awards. According to a press release issued by the selection committee the other film was Gauthali.
The selection committee was chaired by Laxminath Sharma, with Lokendra Parajuli ‘Kapil’, Gautam Dhimal, Jiwan Kumar Parajuli and Bikash Subedi as members. Representing Nepal globally, Shah's film is currently in its second week of theatrical release across the country.
Shah's film follows the struggle of a Nepalese Kinnar community trying to protect itself. At the centre of the story is Pirati, the matriarch of a Kinnar community in Thori. Her life takes a difficult turn when her daughter, Apsara, goes missing while Pirati is in love with a local percussionist.
The film celebrated its world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 20, where it was screened in the Un Certain Regard section.
Elephants In The Fog's Journey
It went on to win the Jury Prize in the section. The film was also nominated for the Camera d’Or and Queer Palm at Cannes. The cast includes Pushpa Thing Lama, Deepika Yadav, Jasmine Bishwokarma, Aliz Ghimire and Dura Sanjay Kumar Gupta. Akanchha Karki, Maotse Gurung and Aashant Sharma are also part of the cast. Elephants In The Fog marked the first time a Nepali film was selected at Cannes.
Prime Minister Balen Shah has also congratulated and extended best wishes to Elephants in the Fog: Tiniharu. The film continues its illustrious festival journey with stops in Toronto, BFI London, Taipei, Busan, and Rio, among others. It garnered three nominations at the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Gold Coast, Australia.
The film has been nominated for Best Film, Best Director for Abinash Bikram Shah, and Best Actress for Pushpa Thing Lama. Elephants in the Fog won both the Best Film Award and the Audience Award at the New Zealand International Film Festival.
