The long road of Elephants in the Fog to Cannes

“It feels like a dream come true,” says Anup Poudel, the producer of Elephants in the Fog, which has been selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

It is the first time a Nepali feature film has been selected for Cannes.

Written and directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, the film is set in a small Nepali village deep within a forest inhabited by wild elephants. It follows Pirati, the matriarch of a Kinnar community, who dreams of escaping into a more ordinary life. When one of her daughters disappears, she is forced to investigate and to choose between love and responsibility.

Honesty and voice

With this selection, Nepali cinema reaches a new height. In recent years, Nepali films have been screened at major festivals, including Venice, Berlinale, and Busan. 

Like Poudel, the writer and director Abinash Bikram Shah is elated. He believes it is the result of years of hard work. The film follows a trans woman mother, and Shah says he is now eager to hear how audiences respond to both the character and the community she represents.

“I have made this film with complete honesty,” Shah says. “Now I am curious to know whether I did justice to the character and the community.” 

In 2022, Shah and Poudel arrived at Cannes with their short film Lori, which received a Special Mention. Both say that the experience helped pave the way for Elephants in the Fog.

At the time of Lori’s premiere, the feature was still in development, already part of La Fabrique, the festival’s project market. It was there that the filmmakers met their French producer. Lori’s presence at Cannes gave the new project momentum, helping it secure financing and earn the attention and trust of international collaborators.

During its development, Elephants in the Fog was also selected for Global Media Makers in the United States and the Asian Project Market at the Busan International Film Festival. Shah began writing Elephants in the Fog in 2021. 

As a writer, Shah’s films have travelled to major international festivals before, but this marks the first time he has reached a stage of this scale as a writer-director. 

Shah’s films often turn to characters from marginalised communities, and Elephants in the Fog is no exception. Another recurring preoccupation in his work is the relationship between mother and daughter.

In Lori, that bond is biological; in Elephants in the Fog, it is chosen rather than given. The question of how such relationships endure in the contemporary world is what draws him, again and again, to these themes.   

Beyond traditional casting

Working with characters from marginalised communities offers a chance to explore fresh perspectives, but it also brings its own set of challenges. Their greatest challenge lay in casting. Finding actors from the trans community in Elephants in the Fog took nearly two years. The filmmakers reached out to individuals and organisations working with the LGBTIQ+ community across Nepal in their search.

“I wanted to work with non-actors,” Shah says. “I was clear that I would not have cis man actors perform as trans women, because that would compromise the authenticity of the character.”

Now that they have worked closely with members of the trans community, bringing them into the film as actors, both Shah and Poudel are eager to see how that community will respond to the performances as well as to the film as a whole.

There were different stages in selecting the actors. The film crew held workshops with 30 community members and then shortlisted them. The workshop was conducted in five phases.

Shah remained uncertain about the lead character, Pirati, until the very last moment, unsure whether she would be able to pull it off. But gradually, as she began to understand the film, she performed very well.

While working with the trans women, they not only acted but also served as gatekeepers in cases of confusion and error, Shah adds.  

Cannes is set to run from May 12 to 23. As this film becomes the first Nepali feature to be screened there, curiosity is growing, especially within the film fraternity, about what led the Cannes selection committee to choose it.

Asked what factors brought Elephants in the Fog to Cannes, Shah says the film is not merely entertainment but also a voice.

“I think the voice carried in this film mattered to the selection committee,” Shah says. “Technically, as well, the film is rich and meets international standards.”

Poudel, meanwhile, says the film’s story is both local and universal. 

“There is a fresh perspective in the film,” Poudel adds. 

Beyond festival success

The selection of Elephants in the Fog for Cannes is a moment of pride for the entire country. The film’s selection further suggests that Nepali cinema possesses voices that a global audience ought to be acquainted with. However, in the commercial market of Nepal, films that have travelled to renowned festivals often struggle. There is a larger perception among the people that festival films are boring and slow.  Shah and Poudel are both well aware of this reality. 

To that end, Shah has employed a specific set of techniques in Elephant in the Fog, aiming to ensure the film remains engaging enough to find commercial success in Nepal.

“While writing, I was mindful of the need for a broad audience,” Shah says. “To some extent, I wrote it in a fast-paced, genre-inflected style.” 

The film functions primarily as a family drama, though it is bolstered by elements of the thriller, a choice Shah believes will serve as a primary draw. Beyond its commercial aspirations, Shah maintains that the community featured in the film is essential viewing; their stories, he notes, are rarely heard.

In recent years, the family drama has proved remarkably resilient at the box office. Notable examples include Purna Bahadur Ko Sarangi, now the highest-grossing Nepali film in history, and Paran, both of which underscore the genre’s current commercial dominance. 

The makers of Elephants in the Fog are planning to release the film in Nepal after its world premiere. They are also planning to take the film to festivals around the world.

“Our Nepal distributor, Tea Folks, has been discussing a November release,” the film’s producer, Poudel, says. “However, several logistical details remain to be settled before a date can be finalised.”

While the logistical path toward a release remains in flux, both Shah and Poudel are quick to look past the business of distribution, offering a brand of advice to aspiring filmmakers that favours persistence over prestige.

“Continue with whatever you are doing,” Shah suggests. “There will be challenges, but they are all ephemeral. Be authentic. Do not make a film with the sole intention of reaching Cannes or Venice. Simply watch more movies.”

Echoing a similar sentiment, Poudel adds, “Patience and passion are key. Above all, have your own voice.”

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