Anghba, the last surviving chief of a deserted village in Nagaland, faces a critical challenge as he strives to protect his community’s age-old customs. Living with his ailing wife and son, Anghba witnesses the ongoing transformation of the region, which he believes is threatened by the influence of a missionary. This situation raises concerns about the preservation of his people’s heritage and way of life.
Theja Rio expands on award-winning short film
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,” Kohima-born Rio said on Sunday after the announcement. Angh captures the haunting and intimate story of a father and son, the latter increasingly seduced by the comforts of the mission. Simultaneously, the film observes the process of conversion that reframes the local culture as primitive. “It is a very special moment for me and for everyone associated with the film. The film, set in the 1960s, is almost entirely in Konyak. In choosing Angh, the Platform jury commended the film for “its refreshing perspective, strength of filmmaking, and deeply resonant portrait of a world.
Made by Naga filmmaker Theja Rio and an adaptation of his own award-winning 2021 short film, the gripping, multilayered feature film, which captures a culture rarely depicted on screen, has taken a big leap: it has been selected for the International Feature Film category for next year’s Oscars after winning the prestigious Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Angh is the 31-year-old director’s debut feature — it has been expanded on a theme he earlier explored in a short film of the same name which won a special jury award at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2021.
