Nagaland film Angh wins prize at Toronto Film Festival

The film ‘Angh’, directed by Theja Rio, has gained international recognition after winning the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is set in the early 1960s and is produced in Konyak, a tribal language from the Nagaland state in northeastern India.

Shot on 16mm film, ‘Angh’ depicts the life of a traditional Konyak leader and the social and religious shifts occurring within the community during that era. Many members of the cast were non-professional actors from the local community.

Under new Academy rules, the film’s win at a major international festival provides a potential pathway for consideration in the International Feature Film category at the 2027 Academy Awards, bypassing the need for an official country submission.