‘Elephants in the Fog’, directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, has won the Jury Prize in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section at the Cannes Film Festival. The section is regarded as the festival’s second most prestigious category after the main competition, and the award was presented during the closing ceremony.

The main award in the category, the ‘Un Certain Regard Prize’, was won by Sandra Wollner’s film ‘Everytime’. Nepal’s film secured the second major award in the section.

After receiving the award, director Shah credited his team for the achievement. “Cinema has the power to see even through darkness. For our story to reach this festival and receive such recognition means the invisible has been made visible,” Shah said.

The film tells the story of a family living in a settlement troubled by elephant attacks, focusing on the relationship between a mother and daughter. The family represents the queer and minority communities, and members of those communities have acted in the film.

After winning the award, the cast and crew celebrated on stage with dance and cheers. Actor Pushpa Lama draped the Nepali flag over director Shah following the win.

In the same category, the Special Jury Prize went to ‘Iron Boy’. The Best Actor award was won by ‘Kongo Boy’, while ‘Sempre So Tu Animal Materno’ received the Best Actress award.

A total of 19 films were selected for the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section, including six by first-time directors.