Elephants in the Fog

In a village in southern Nepal, Pirati is the matriarch of a Kinnar community, a third-gender tradition recognized in that country, where families form through chosen bonds of care rather than blood. When Apsara, one of Pirati’s daughters, disappears during a nightly patrol to keep watch for wild elephants, Pirati begins her own search. As the mystery opens wounds within the community, she wrestles with a difficult choice: remain with the family that gave her a home or pursue a new life with the man she loves. Around them, wild elephants move through the darkness, revered and feared, a haunting presence that echoes the film’s questions about belonging and otherness. Abinash Bikram Shah’s remarkable first feature is both a tense, immersive thriller and a tender portrait of chosen family, finding beauty in ritual, humor, desire, and everyday life. Noé Bach’s stunning cinematography makes the forest feel almost alive, while Frederic Alvarez’s haunting score draws us deeper into Pirati’s journey. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Elephants in the Fog announces a filmmaker with a remarkably assured vision.