Theja Rio's Angh won the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 20, 2026. The festival announced the result at TIFF Lightbox, awarding the Indian film the section's CAD20,000 prize. Twelve films competed in the expanded Platform programme, with a five-member international jury choosing the winner rather than an audience vote.
Jury president Pablo Trapero was joined by Amma Asante, Sylvia Chang, Luc Dery and Albert Lee. Their citation praised Angh's distinctive perspective and filmmaking, and the director's willingness to take artistic risks. Platform was launched in 2015 to recognise strong directorial voices. The festival separately presented audience-selected People's Choice awards, keeping those honours distinct from Angh's juried win.
Rio's feature debut is set in 1960s Nagaland and follows an ageing Konyak village chief and his son as they hold to ancestral beliefs amid social change. Nagaland's information department reported that the film was shot on 16mm and combined an Indigenous Naga cast with actor Douglas Henshall. Nancy Nisa Beso and Rio produced the film.
Jungle Book Studio acquired international sales rights before the Toronto premiere and represented the film for domestic and international distribution. In the state department's account, Beso described a collaboration lasting from the project's beginnings as a short film through its feature development. She credited the wider group who contributed time, resources and skills when completing the production had appeared difficult.
In a subsequent development on September 22, Rio received a welcome at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport after returning from Toronto. Angami Krotho Delhi president Pelhu Dolie led members and well-wishers at the reception, Nagaland's information department reported. Rio described the recognition as meaningful for everyone who made the film, linking the achievement to the place, people and culture represented in its story.
