ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG Discovery

Surrounded by wild elephants, a remote Nepalese village is home to a sacred Kinnar community in writer-director Abinah Bikram Shah’s empathetic and atmospheric thriller, winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes. Pirati (Pushpa Thing Lama) is the dedicated matriarch of a small group of Kinnar, transgender women legally recognized with third-gender status. Forced to take a vow of celibacy, the women act as good luck charms for hire, blessing major life events like impending births and weddings for the nearby villagers. They’re revered but never quite treated as equals, always on the fringes of society. Despite their strict rules, Pirati has fallen deeply in love with the local drummer, dreaming of a fresh start in New Delhi. When one of her adopted daughters, the free-spirited Apsara (Aliz Ghimire), goes missing on an overnight elephant watch, Pirati must put her plans on hold to protect her own. Shah spent years building bridges with the Kinnar community, his screenplay bringing dignity and delicate insight to their struggle for acceptance, creating fully realized characters not solely defined by their gender identity. Lama, a transgender activist, is a major discovery in her debut acting role, bristling with gravitas and desire. Working with up-and-coming cinematographer Noé Bach, Shah’s lush, evocative imagery is quietly radical, marking a new direction for Nepalese cinema. –Josh Gardner