Naga film Angh wins top jury award at TIFF 2026, secures direct Oscars 2027 qualification
Naga film Angh wins top jury award at TIFF 2026
Director Theja Rio's Angh has won the Platform Prize at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival and secured a direct entry to 2027 Oscars for consideration in the Best International Features category.
Naga director Theja Rio’s Indian feature film Angh has won the coveted Platform Prize at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Festival organisers announced the honour on Sunday evening, marking a major milestone for the film, which has now directly qualified for consideration in the Best International Feature Film category at the 2027 Academy Awards.
Angh qualifies for Oscars 2027
The TIFF jury commended the film's bold vision and narrative depth in an official statement, “The Platform Prize goes to Angh. For its refreshing perspective, strength of filmmaking, and deeply resonant portrait of a world. We praise the filmmaker’s vision, audacity and courage.”
Starting this year, the Platform Prize is one of only six international festival awards offering a direct pathway to the Academy Awards. As a result, Angh will compete alongside official national submissions, including India's Gondhal, for a nomination in the Best International Feature Film category.
‘Want to dedicate this award everyone to back home’
Theja Rio accepted the award at the award ceremony and dedicated the win to the people ‘back home.’
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“Thank you to TIFF. What you have done is truly special, highlighting a film that comes from an indeginious region and speaks a tribal language. I come from a small town in the northeast of India where dreams don't often come true for my people, so if I may, I would like to dedicate this award to everyone back home. This is just a beginning," said Rio in his winning speech.
About Angh
Adapted by Theja Rio from his own award-winning 2021 short film, Angh offers a rare cinematic portrayal of a culture seldom seen on screen. Set in the 1960s and spoken almost entirely in the Konyak language, the narrative captures the haunting and intimate story of a father and son, as the son becomes increasingly drawn to the comforts of a local mission while the broader culture is reframed as primitive through the process of conversion.
Other key winners at TIFF 2026
Spanish queer epic La Bola Negra, directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (Los Javis), took home the festival’s top audience-voted prize, People’s Choice Award. Following its acclaimed run at Cannes, the Netflix-acquired film is set for a theatrical release on October 16, followed by its streaming debut on December 2.
I Play Rocky, Peter Farrelly's comedy centred on the making of Sylvester Stallone's classic film Rocky, was declared as the first runner-up. Meanwhile, Being Heumann, Siân Heder’s biographical drama depicting the life of disability rights pioneer Judy Heumann, was declared as the second runner-up.
