“Elephants in the Fog,” Nepal’s Academy Awards submission, is screening at the Toronto Film Festival as the country’s sole representative at the event. Director Abinash Bikram Shah has leveraged the film’s international platform to support flood relief efforts in Nepal, where recent disasters have impacted communities connected to the production.
Lead actress Puspa Thing Lama hails from Nuwakot district, one of the most severely affected regions. Co-producer Prachanda Man Singh Shrestha, also from the same district, has experienced significant personal loss. Shah noted the tension inherent in promoting a film globally while individuals involved with the project face displacement and hardship at home.
The production has already organized a fundraising screening in Kathmandu, with proceeds directed to the Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund. Partnerships with the Zonta Club and Rotary Clubs have supported children affected by flooding in the Bhotekoshi region. A Paris screening scheduled for later this month will feature Nepal’s Ambassador to France, with distributor revenue allocated to the country’s relief efforts.
The film opened domestically on September 4 and has continued its run despite challenging circumstances. Shah acknowledged the difficulty of encouraging cinema attendance during a period when many are experiencing displacement and uncertainty, yet the film generated approximately $45,000 in its opening week. He emphasized that post-screening conversations held equal value to box office performance.
The narrative centers on Pirati, the matriarch of a Kinnar community in a rural Nepalese village, portrayed by first-time actress Puspa Thing Lama, a longtime LGBTIQA+ rights advocate. The film won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes and has received nominations from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards for best performance, best film, and best director. Distribution deals have been secured across 14 territories, with agreements involving multiple international companies across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and other regions.
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