Nagaland film Angh, which was in running for India’s official Oscar entry but had lost out to Gondhal, has now earned a direct qualification for 99th Academy Awards after it won the Platform Prize at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The Platform jury, led by filmmaker Pablo Trapero, awarded the film the festival's top prize in the section. 

Under the new eligibility rules introduced by the Academy this year, any non-English language film can enter the International Feature Film Competition if it wins a designated award at any one of the six prominent international film festivals —  the Golden Bear for Best Film at Berlin, the Busan Award for Best Film at Busan, the Palme d'Or at Cannes, the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, the Platform Award at Toronto and the Golden Lion at Venice. With its Platform Award at Toronto, Angh now stands eligible for a nomination in International Feature Film category next year at 99th Academy Awards that will be held in March 2027.

Set in the early 1960s’ Nagaland, Angh tells the story of a former village chief and his young son who remain in one of the last communities holding on to an ancient way of life. Their solitary and alienated existence is disrupted by the arrival of an American missionary, compelling them to confront questions of faith, cultural identity and a changing world into their relationship.

Besides featuring Indigenous actors from Nagaland in the lead cast, the film also stars Scottish actor Douglas Henshall.

Directed by Naga filmmaker Theja Rio, the film had lost out the race to Marathi film Gondhal, directed by Santosh Davakhar, as India’s official entry for Oscars 2027. Other film in the running was Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga.