The French Embassy in Nepal hosted a reception in Kathmandu on Friday to celebrate the success of the Nepali film ‘Elephants in the Fog’, which won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

The film is a co-production involving Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil and Norway, and received support from Institut Français through its La Fabrique programme.

Speaking at the event, French Ambassador to Nepal Virginie Corteval said the recognition at Cannes reflected Nepal’s creative potential on the global stage.

“This recognition at Cannes was a testament to Nepal’s extraordinary creative talent. Nepal has plenty of powerful stories to tell, and I’m certain that we will get to see more of Nepali talent at the global platforms,” she said.

Director Abinash Bikram Shah expressed gratitude to the film’s supporters and French regional funding bodies that backed the project.

“When you invest in a film like ours, it becomes more than just a production. You are protecting a voice. You are ensuring that stories that are so deeply local, stories about resilience and survival and of those on the margins are not erased by financial constraints,” Shah said.

The reception, hosted at the residence of the French ambassador, was attended by members of the film crew, Kathmandu Acting Mayor Sunita Dangol, media representatives and figures from the film industry.