Theja Rio addressing the reception organised by the Angami Youth Organisation (AYO) at Cargo Terminal Area, Airport, Chümoukedima on September 29. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Chümoukedima | September 29
For filmmaker Theja Rio, bringing ANGH back to Nagaland after its historic run at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) means more than any award the film could have received abroad.
Speaking at the grand reception organised by the Angami Youth Organisation (AYO) at Cargo Terminal Area, Airport, Chümoukedima on September 29, Rio was visibly moved by the heartfelt welcome the team received.
“Bringing our film here means more to us than anything else we’ll ever achieve,” he said, while adding ANGH is a film rooted in and made “by the people of Nagaland.”
Rio dedicated the film to Nagaland, acknowledging the support extended to the production across the state, from the Eastern Naga areas and the Konyak community, where the project’s research began, to Ghaspani and Puliebadze, where portions of the film were shot.
He said people repeatedly opened their homes and offered their help, whether or not they knew what the team was filming.
Theja Rio’s feature debut ANGH won the Platform Prize at TIFF 2026, becoming the first Indian film to win the award. Under new Academy rules, the TIFF Platform Prize gives the non-English-language film direct eligibility for consideration in the International Feature Film category at the 2027 Oscars.
The feature grew out of his earlier short film of the same name, which was made in 2019 and subsequently travelled to international festivals.
That experience gave Rio the confidence to develop the story into a feature. He wrote the first draft of the feature in 2021, before the team decided to make it in 2024.
Producing the feature was a “huge mammoth task,” Rio said, particularly because it was an independent film made in a place without an established film industry. Yet, the project was sustained by what he called Nagaland’s “industry of love” and “industry of support,” people willing to give their time, resources and labour to help one another.
Rio also acknowledged the people who helped bring the film to life, beginning with producer and long-time mentor Nancy Nisa Beso, whom he credited with guiding his work since his late teens.
He singled out the principal cast, including Anghlong Konyak, who plays Angh, Sobino Rengma, who plays Amao, Genpai Konyak, Amah Konyak and Wangton Konyak. The film also features Scottish actor Douglas Henshall.
He also acknowledged casting director Bendang Walling, who was responsible for finding many of the actors, as well as Limasunglir, the assistant director, who remained with the project for more than two years.
‘ANGH brought a cultural U-turn’
Rio said ANGH was particularly significant because it was his first project deeply rooted in Naga culture.
Having lived outside Nagaland for years and previously set his stories in different parts of the world, he said making ANGH brought a “cultural U-turn.” The process made him understand more deeply the importance of where he came from and the need to tell stories rooted in Naga culture.
The film itself is set in 1960s Nagaland and follows a Konyak village chief and his son as they confront a changing world and the arrival of an American missionary.
From Toronto to the Oscars
With the TIFF Platform Prize behind it, Rio said the team is now preparing for the next stage of the journey—a campaign for the Academy Awards.
“We will continue to need your love and support and most importantly, your prayers,” he told the gathering.
Rio noted that India’s most recent Oscar nomination in the International Feature category came with Lagaan in 2001, making the gap roughly 25 years.
Earlier, several civil society organisations felicitated Theja Rio and his team. The event was chaired by AYO Press Secretary Vitsikolie Kehie, while invocation was led by Rev Zhau Sanchu, Principal, Hope Institute of Theology, Sovima.
AYO General Secretary Vipu Zashumo delivered the welcome address, and AYO President Petevito Nakhro offered words of appreciation.
Short messages were also delivered by Sebastian Zümvü from Chakhroma Public Organisation (CPO), Kenilo Kent from Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) and Molo Phom from Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF).
