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An Indian film from the northeastern state of Nagaland has won a major award at the Toronto International Film Festival, bringing a rarely seen Konyak world to international cinema.
“Angh”, the debut feature by director Theja Rio, received the Platform Prize, which recognises films with a distinctive directorial voice. The jury praised Rio’s “refreshing perspective” and the film’s portrayal of a world rarely seen on the international screen, according to the BBC.
The award gives the film a possible route towards the 2027 Academy Awards. Under new rules, winners of designated prizes at six international festivals can qualify for consideration in the International Feature Film category without relying exclusively on their country’s official submission. The prize does not make “Angh” an Oscar nominee.
A story of change in Nagaland
Set in the early 1960s, the film follows Anghba, an ageing hereditary chief of a Konyak village, and his young son as their community undergoes profound social and religious change.
The Konyaks are one of Nagaland’s 17 major tribes and are concentrated in Mon district. Some older Konyak men still bear facial tattoos associated with the community’s historical practice of headhunting.
In the film, Anghba and his son are among the last people in their area to follow an ancestral faith as Christianity spreads. Their relationship is further tested by the arrival of an American missionary, played by Scottish actor Douglas Henshall.
Rio said the idea for the film emerged during a visit to Mon for another project. He was struck by the way different generations appeared to coexist, with the memories and marks of the past living alongside contemporary life.
“It feels like you’ve jumped on a time machine. The past and the present sort of coexist together,” Rio said.
Nagaland became an Indian state in December 1963, after previously being part of Assam. By then, Christianity had been spreading among Naga communities for decades, transforming customs, rituals and everyday life as well as religious belief.
Reclaiming the point of view
Scholar B Amo Konyak said the period brought the disappearance of some practices, while others survived in fragments through elders’ memories and family heirlooms. He added that traditions did not simply end, but changed as people carried elements of them into new religious and social settings.
“Angh” explores this transition through a father and son who remain deeply attached to each other even as their worlds begin to diverge. Film critic Siddhant Adlakha said the film presents progress and tradition as potentially intertwined rather than strictly opposing forces.
Rio said earlier films and documentaries about Nagaland often followed the gaze of explorers, colonial officials, missionaries or photographers. With “Angh”, he wanted audiences to experience the story from the perspective of the Konyak characters.
Konyak advisers contributed to the dialogue, costumes and production design, while many of the performers were appearing before a camera for the first time. Adlakha said the forest was presented not merely as a backdrop, but as a home with its own history.
A production shaped by the landscape
Rio and cinematographer Adam Pietkiewicz shot the film on 16mm, drawing inspiration from archival photographs and footage of missionaries and Naga communities from the 1950s and 1960s. The filmmakers sought to recreate the texture of those images while changing the perspective from outsider to subject.
The choice created practical difficulties. The exposed film had to be sent to Mumbai for processing every four or five days, meaning the crew continued filming without immediately knowing what had been captured.
During one night shoot involving an old Second World War Jeep, the vehicle worked during rehearsals but failed to start when filming began. After repeated attempts, the crew managed to record only one take of it entering the frame.
Although “Angh” is Rio’s first feature, its success places it within a growing body of Indian cinema from the northeast. Adlakha has also highlighted filmmakers such as Assam’s Rima Das and Meghalaya’s Dominic Sangma as examples of the region’s diverse filmmaking talent.
Rio said Nagaland’s film industry remains at an early stage, but he hopes the attention generated by “Angh” will return to the state and its emerging filmmakers.
“There are so many talented filmmakers with so many beautiful stories that are yet to be told,” Rio said.
