Naga Film ‘Angh’ Wins Platform Award at TIFF 2026, Earns Oscar Entry

New Delhi: Naga director Theja Rio’s ‘Angh’ won the platform award at the Toronto International Film festival (TIFF) 2026, the Ukhrul Times reported. Rio dedicated the award to the people in his hometown in Northeast India. 

Angh was the only Indian film to have a world premiere at TIFF 2026. 

Rio expressed happiness and said, “Just getting our film to come here has been an incredible achievement but then to have a spotlight shine on it with an award is the stuff of dreams. I cannot say I never thought about this but first and foremost I wanted to make a film about where I come from, I wanted to tell a story, I wanted to have our voices heard and that remained my number one priority.”

While speaking with TIFF, Rio shared his process and the vision he had for the film. He said, “[it is] A gesture of remembrance, of pride, and of presence. A way of saying that we are here, that we have always been here, and that our stories deserve to stand alongside the rest of the world.” The film was shot on 16mm film and set in the 1960s.

Nagaland Chief minister, Neiphiu Rio on X congratulated the film’s team for their achievement.

After securing a win at TIFF, the film has become eligible to debut at the Academy awards in the “Best International  Feature Film” category, the New Indian Express reported. Santosh Davakhar’s Gondhal is India’s official entry in this category for the 2027 academy awards.

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