Nepal UK
KATHMANDU, 29 October 2026 — Nepali film Gauthali, directed by Dr Kapil Rijal, has won Best Foreign Film in the October 2026 monthly competition of the World Film Festival in Cannes.
The film is the only Nepali production on the organiser’s list of winners, which names recipients across 43 award categories covering films, performances, music and screenwriting.
The recognition follows a strong domestic theatrical run for the social drama, which explores child marriage, girls’ education and the restrictions imposed on women within a patriarchal household.
Based on a story by Dr Bhola Rijal, Gauthali follows a young woman whose hopes of continuing her education are disrupted by an early marriage. Simran Khadka and Arun Chhetri lead the cast, alongside Madan Krishna Shrestha, Prakash Ghimire, Loonibha Tuladhar, Rabindra Jha, Sita Devi Timilsina and Laxminath Timilsina.
Released in Nepal on 17 July, the film had earned more than Rs 25 crore at the domestic box office by 23 August, according to Onlinekhabar. The outlet reported more than 908,000 admissions and ranked it as Nepal’s second-highest-grossing film at that time.
Gauthali subsequently reached overseas cinemas, opening in the United Kingdom on 7 August. Ireland’s Film Classification Office also lists a distributor-supplied release date of 7 August, with 2G Entertainment named as its distributor.
South Asian films among the winners
Other South Asian productions also received awards in the October competition. Pakistan’s Kala Pani, directed by Muhammad Kamran, won Best Narrative Feature Film. India’s Mayookha won Best Thriller/Suspense Film, while its director, Shree Tej SK, received Best First Time Filmmaker in the feature category. Indian writer Vipul Bhatia won Best Series Pilot Script for The Speaker.
Ahead of the results, Glamour Nepal reported that Gauthali had received nominations for both Best Foreign Film and Best Narrative Feature Film. It named Switzerland’s Cancer-Soul and India’s Mayookha as fellow nominees in the foreign-film category.
The World Film Festival in Cannes — Remember the Future runs monthly and annual competitions and operates independently of the Festival de Cannes, commonly known as the Cannes Film Festival. Its published rules provide for a jury of at least seven members drawn from film, music and other artistic and cultural fields.
Gauthali is Rijal’s second feature as director, following Harry Ki Pyari. Its screenplay and dialogue were written by Kapil Rijal, Mandip Gautam and Giriraj Ghimire, adapting Bhola Rijal’s story.
