Overview
- Theja Rio’s feature debut Angh was named winner of TIFF’s Platform Prize in a jury announcement on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, earning a trophy and a CAD 20,000 cash award.
- The five‑member Platform jury praised the film for its “refreshing perspective, strength of filmmaking, and deeply resonant portrait of a world,” and commended Rio’s vision, audacity and courage.
- Angh is set in early 1960s Nagaland, is almost entirely in the Konyak language, was shot on 16mm, and stars Indigenous Naga performers alongside Douglas Henshall in a story about a chief, his son and cultural change.
- Under new Academy‑linked rules, the Platform win gives Angh direct eligibility for consideration in the 2027 Best International Feature Film race even as India’s official submission, Gondhal, proceeds through the national selection route.
- Next steps for Angh include awards‑season campaigning, distribution planning and the Academy’s selection process, a run that could raise visibility for Northeast Indian and Indigenous cinema and affect the careers of the film’s cast and makers.