Theja Rio speaks about ‘Angh’, his debut feature set in 1960s Nagaland, after its success at TIFF 2026.
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DIMAPUR — The stage belonged to ‘Angh’ on Sunday night (Sep. 20), but Theja Rio used the moment to look home.
“It is a very special moment for me and for everyone associated with the film,” Rio said in a statement released after his debut feature won the Platform Competition at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). “I am aware that it is rare for a debut film to receive this kind of recognition, and all I can say is that we made Angh with a lot of love — for the place I come from, for my people and for our culture.”
Set in 1960s Nagaland, ‘Angh’ follows an ageing Konyak village chief and his son, who are amongthe last in their community to hold on to their ancestral faith and way of life as their world changes.The film was shot on 16mm and features an Indigenous Naga cast alongside BAFTA-winning actor Douglas Henshall.
At the centre of the film is the relationship between the father and son, but Rio sees the story as extending beyond that relationship.
“It is also about letting go, our relationship with home and the transient nature of life,” he said. “These are some of the most universal emotions, and they belong to all of us.”
The film had its world premiere at TIFF 2026 and was the only Indian selection in the Platform Competition. The Platform jury described ‘Angh’ as a film with “refreshing perspectives, strength of filmmaking, and deeply resonant portrait of a world” and commended Rio’s “vision, audacity, and courage”.
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“To see Angh connect with audiences beyond our own community has been deeply moving,” Rio said.
The film has been years in the making. Producer Nancy Nisa Beso said her collaboration with Rio began with the short film that eventually developed into ‘Angh’.
“We have been carrying ANGH with us for many years from the short film to the feature and through all of it, we held on to the belief that this was a story we had to tell, and that we had to tell it on our own terms,” she said.
According to Beso, that commitment was tested during production, when making the film sometimes felt “almost impossible”. The project, she said, would not have reached the screen without the people who continued to contribute their time, talent, resources and belief in it.
“I hope it also encourages other filmmakers to take that leap and tell the stories that are close to their hearts, stories from their own communities, their own experiences, their own languages and their own corners of the world, even when they don't fit neatly into what cinema is expected to be,” she said.
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Executive producer Gaurav Dhingra recalled his reaction when he first saw footage from the film.
“When I first saw the rushes of Angh, I felt I was looking at something rare, a film born in Nagaland, made by Indigenous filmmakers, carrying the voice of a community rarely seen on the world’s biggest screens on its own terms,” he said.
Jungle Book Studio, led by Dhingra, acquired the film’s international sales rights before its TIFF premiere and represents it for domestic and international distribution.
‘Angh’ is produced by Rio and Beso. Winter Hymns Films, a production house from Nagaland, is making its feature-film debut with the film after producing short films that have appeared on the festival circuit. Undercover Squirrel is also associated with the production.
In his acceptance speech, Rio thanked his parents, Beso, the cast and crew, and those who had supported the film through its making.
“I stand on the shoulders of each and every single one of you,” he said.
He dedicated the recognition to those back home in Nagaland, saying, “I’m from a small town in the northeast of India where dreams don’t often come true for my people. This is just the beginning.”
Read: Nagaland: Theja Rio’s ‘Angh’ goes global; to be screened at Toronto International Film Festival