DIMAPUR, SEP 20 (NPN): Naga filmmaker Theja Rio’s feature debut ‘Angh’ has won the top prize in the Platform competition at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Under new Oscar rules, the Platform win automatically makes the film eligible in the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards/Oscars. Shot on 16mm by Adam Pietkiewicz, Angh is set in 1960s Nagaland and follows a Konyak chief and his son as they face cultural erasure following the arrival of an American missionary.
“It is a very special moment for me and for everyone associated with the film,” Rio said, adding that the film was made “with a lot of love” for his homeland, people and culture.
Angh is produced by Nancy Nisa Beso and Rio. Jungle Book Studio represents the film internationally and domestically for distribution and had acquired its international sales rights ahead of its Toronto International Film Festival world premiere.
Earlier, Pietkiewicz was announced as the recipient of the Toronto International Film Festival Variety Artisan Award for his work on Angh.
Beso said the collaboration with Rio had been “one of the longest and most meaningful” of her career, adding that the film was a story they had to tell “on our own terms”. (More on Nagabuzz)
