Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize, APM 2021 SelectionLGBTQ+Crime/ViolencePsychology/Mystery/Suspence/ThrillerComing of Age
In a Nepalese village, residents protect their homes from wild elephants every night. Pirati and her family are members of Kinnar, a religious community of transgender people, and they also join the night patrols. One night, after an argument with Pirati, her beloved daughter Apsara goes missing while out on patrol in the forest. Like the elephants in the fog, both revered and feared, Kinnar is believed to possess the power to bless and to curse. Delving deep into their lives, the film brings to light the dignity of people who wished to be nothing more than women and mothers - not sacred others nor a third gender - with the suspense of a thriller film. A densely woven script with real Kinnar activist Pushpa Thing Lama, whose unaffected acting comes together with mysterious images and sound in this debut feature by Abinash Bikram Shah, which became the first Nepalese film to win the Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize.
Abinash Bikram Shah is a Nepalese writer and director, and an alumnus of the Asian Film Academy, Sundance Institute, Berlinale Talents, Film Independent Global Media Makers (GMM), and the Locarno Filmmakers Academy. Shah co-wrote The Black Hen (2015), which premiered at the Venice International Film Critics' Week, and Shambhala (2024), which was selected for the Competition section at the Berlin International Film Festival — both serving as Nepal's official Oscar entries. He wrote and directed the short film Tattini (2018), which screened at international festivals, and went on to become the first Nepali filmmaker to compete in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival with his short Lori (2022), which earned a Special Mention. Most recently, his film Elephants in the Fog won the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2026.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
