Home · Entertainment · Sep 13 archive
Nepali Film 'Elephants in the Fog' Recommended for Oscars, Prime Minister Congratulates Team
Confirmed
In Short: Prime Minister Balen Shah has congratulated the team behind 'Elephants in the Fog,' which has been recommended for the Academy Awards and nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Prime Minister Balen Shah has congratulated the team behind the Nepali film 'Elephants in the Fog: Tiniharu' after it was recommended for the Academy Awards and nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards from Nepal.
The film, directed by Avinash Bikram Shah, has previously won the Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival in France and is now entering the Best International Feature Film race.
The 2026 thriller, which tells the story of a Nepalese Kinnar community trying to protect itself from wild elephants, has been selected by Nepal’s International Feature Film Selection Committee based on the Academy’s standard selection criteria.
The film has already shown in the domestic box office since last Friday and has been sold to distributors across 10 territories, including Arizona Distribution and Les Valseurs Distribution in France.
The committee praised the film for its technical work, storytelling, emotional portrayal of characters, and overall artistic craftsmanship, making it a strong contender for the prestigious awards.
What's confirmed
- Directed by Avinash Bikram Shah, the film has previously won an award at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
- The Nepali government has also honoured the film with a cash award in recognition of its achievement.
What's still developing
- Subscribe to Onlinekhabar English to get notified of exclusive news stories.
- The film, which tells the story of a minority community living in a settlement affected by the terror of wild elephants, features actresses Pushpa Thing Lama, Deepika Yadav, Jasmine Bishwakarma, Aliz Ghimire, Mahima Navbag, Gauri Malla, Maotshe Gurung, Akanksha Karki, among others.
- The 2026 thriller marks Abinash Bikram Shah’s debut as a director and has already earned major recognition at Cannes.
- Statesman News Service | New Delhi | September 13, 2026 4:26 pm ‘Elephants in the Fog’, also known by its Nepali title ‘Tiniharu’, has been selected as Nepal’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, which will be held in 2027.
- Along with ‘Elephants in the Fog’, ‘Gauthali’ was also submitted to the committee for the Oscar selection.
- The film made its world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 20, where it was screened in the Un Certain Regard section.
- These join previously announced deals with Arizona Distribution and Les Valseurs Distribution in France, missingFILMs in Germany and Austria, Imovision in Brazil and The Tea Folks Films for local Nepal distribution.
- That’s why the audience take it personally.” “But you can’t live off that reputation forever.