Nepali Movies in the USA: Parvati, Jhingedaau 2 and the Films Bringing Kathmandu Stories to American Cinemas
A running guide to Nepali films in American cinemas in 2026 — current releases, how the Maya Digital pipeline works, and where festival films fit in.
By Nepalese Events Australia Editorial
Published: 2026-09-30T05:30:00.000000Z
Category: Movies & Entertainment
2026 has quietly become a strong year for Nepali cinema in the United States. Where a Nepali feature used to be a rare one-night community screening, there's now a functioning theatrical pipeline — and a parallel festival circuit putting Nepali films in front of American critics. This is our running guide to what's in US cinemas and where the market is heading.
What's playing now
Jhingedaau 2 — released October 2. The sequel continues the brothers-and-missing-mother story of the first film in a social-comedy register, distributed by Maya Digital USA. Confirmed sessions started October 2 in multiple markets including the Bay Area. Full release details here.
Parvati — released September 11. A 2h20m social drama following an autistic girl's life from childhood to old age, listed on Cinemark — a rare national-chain listing for a Nepali title. Read the release coverage.
Earlier in 2026
Lalibazaar (August) set a serious tone for the year's US releases: a social drama set against Nepal's Maoist conflict, following a mother fighting to educate and protect her daughter within the marginalised Badi community. Maya Digital's US slate also lists earlier titles including Aa Bata Aama, Abhimanyu: Chapter 1, Jerry on Top and Paran, per the distributor's entertainment page — a useful to watch for newly announced dates.
The festival side
Commercial releases are only half the picture. At the 21st Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle (October 13–18), Nepali cinema gets its most prestigious US showcase yet: Elephants in the Fog, the first Nepali feature selected at Cannes, closes the festival on October 18, and Taste of Water, fresh from Oberhausen, screens October 17. Earlier this year, the Nepal America International Film Festival (NAIFF) in Maryland screened 38 films from 11 countries — including 13 Nepali-related productions — organised by the Nepal America Film Society.
How to find screenings
Nepali releases in the US concentrate in diaspora metros — Washington DC metro, Dallas–Fort Worth, New York/New Jersey, the Bay Area, Boston and Chicago — and sessions are often limited windows rather than full weeks. Reliable ways to find them: search the film title on Cinemark/AMC showtime pages, watch Maya Digital's announcements, and follow your state's Nepali association pages which regularly co-promote screenings. For timing against Kathmandu, our Nepal–US time difference pages cover major cities.
What to watch for next
The trend to monitor through the end of 2026 is whether the multiplex pipeline holds after the Dashain-season rush. Maya Digital's releases have been clustering around festival windows when the diaspora is primed to buy tickets — the real test is whether a Nepali film can sustain a US run in a quiet month. Meanwhile, the festival circuit keeps generating titles that eventually reach American audiences: NAIFF's Maryland program this June screened Shape of Momo as its opening film alongside twelve other Nepal-related productions, and the titles that play Tasveer this October are the likeliest candidates for wider US pickups in early 2027.
We'll keep this guide updated as new US dates are confirmed. For Nepali film coverage beyond the US — Nepal-side releases, festival news and diaspora premieres — follow the world news desk and our USA section.
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