History of Nepal at Cannes Film Festival

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Director Avinash Vikram Shah and a scene from the film.

Nepali film ‘Elephants in the Fog’ created an unprecedented history at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. The film became the first Nepali film to win an award at Cannes by winning the Jury Prize in one of the prestigious ‘An Sarte Riga’ categories at Cannes.

Written and directed by young filmmaker Avinash Vikram Shah, this is his debut feature film. ‘Elephants in the Fog’ became the first Nepali film in this special category, which runs parallel to the main competition ‘Pam Dar’ and showcases diverse storytelling styles by emerging filmmakers. 

The movie has been made in the context of the forested village ‘Thori’ in the southern Terai Plain of Nepal. The story of the life struggle of a group of transgender women who are neglected and marginalized in the society is depicted here. 

Pirti dreams of running away to a new life with the person of her choice. But suddenly the scenario changes when a girl from his community goes missing. According to the film’s official synopsis, this psychological investigation story revolves around the choice of an old man—his desire for personal freedom or his responsibility and duty to the community. 

Director Avinash Vikram Shah stood on the stage with the actors of the film and gave an emotional speech while receiving the award. He said, “Films have the power to bring forward the dark stories of the society.” 

Dedicating the award to the entire team, he further said, ‘For too long the lives of Pirti and her daughters and the people of this marginalized community of the East have been kept invisible. By bringing our story to the stage like Cannes today and recognizing it through this award, we have brought that marginalized society under the light. We have made the invisible visible today.’

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The movie stars Pushpa Thing, Deepika Yadav, Jasmine Biswakarma, Shanti Giri, Gauri Malla, Maotse Gurung, Sanjay Gupta Dura, Mahima Nababag and Akanksha Karki. 

The film is co-produced by Nepali production houses ‘Underground Talkies Nepal’ and ‘Jayanti Creations’ as well as jointly financed by France, Germany, Brazil and Norway.

Notably, director Avinash Vikram Shah is not new to the Cannes Film Festival. Earlier his directed short film ‘Lori’ received ‘Special Mention’ at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, the first major international recognition for a Nepali short film. 

Austrian director Sandra Ollner’s ‘Everytime’ won the top prize for the best film in the ‘An Sarte Riga’ category at this year’s festival. The psychological drama revolves around the tragedy of a family on a summer vacation and the subsequent strain on family relationships. 

On the other hand, former Pixar Animation animator Louis Clichy’s first solo hand-drawn animated feature film ‘Iron Boy’ won the Special Jury Prize.

And Marina de Tavira, Daniela Marin Navarro and Mariangel Villegas jointly won the Best Actress award for their impeccable performances in Valentina Morel’s Costa Rican family drama ‘Siempre Soi Tu Animal Materno’.