Sadi Mohammad Shahnewaz

I had to make my way inside the headquarters of Qinetic Network to meet a special artiste. He had the world in the palm of his hands when he performed his song “SIIR SIIR” at the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Canada, proudly showing off his maroon jacket—its sleeve intricately embroidered with the Royal Bengal Tiger and the Water Lily (Shapla).

The world moves in a flash at 130 beats per minute. For months, the preparation for Sanjoy Deb was exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. Behind the private jets and celebratory vlogs that he posted, was immaculate planning and a mountain of expectations. When the bass dropped, he was standing at the center of the footballing world.

In a stunning final move, the jury bypassed the media front-runners to award the 2026 Palme d’Or to Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu for “Fjord”.

Nepalese film "Elephants in the Fog" has won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, marking a landmark achievement for the country’s cinema on the global stage.

By the time the ‘happy hour’ sizzled down, I had talked to a dozen filmmakers from all over the world who were hoping to get their films onto the main stages of the upcoming Berlinale, TIFF, and Venice Film Festivals. Mithun, by that time, had unofficially confirmed that he had found a willing distributor. If that is true, Cannes served as the first proper documentation of this promising film.

“Elephants in the Fog” serves as a testament to how Nepal’s legal fight has historically leaned toward a broader human rights framework, granting an "others" category on citizenship documents based on self-identification.

When I walked into the Salle de Conférence de Presse for the Displaced Filmmakers Fund (DFF), admittedly a bit late after a screening, one thing instantly came to mind: Rithy Panh, Annemarie Jacir, Mohammed Amer, Akuol de Mabior, and Bao Nguyen are incredibly talented directors of the highest calibre. However, I wondered whether the fund could also be used to amplify voices that would otherwise have no way of being heard. I will circle back to this point.

Bardem’s appearance at the Cannes Film Festival has remained one of the festival’s most closely watched moments. By addressing political tensions directly during the press conference for “My Beloved”, the actor shifted attention beyond cinema toward the ethical responsibilities of public figures and artistes.