Angh's Toronto win gives India second Oscars contender

Angh, a debut feature from Naga filmmaker Theja Rio set in 1960s Nagaland, won the Platform Prize at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, giving India a second film in contention for Best International Feature at the 99th Academy Awards alongside Gondhal, the Marathi thriller selected as the country's official entry. The Platform jury, led by filmmaker Pablo Trapero, awarded Angh the section's top prize on Sunday, with the film beating eleven others in the competitive Platform lineup. Under eligibility revisions the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced in May, a non-English language film can qualify for the International Feature category by winning a designated prize at one of six major festivals: Berlin, Busan, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto or Venice, without needing to be its country's official submission. The win came just days after the Film Federation of India named Gondhal, directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Santosh Davakhar, as India's official entry for the category. Angh had been among the films in the running for that selection but lost out to Gondhal, with Imtiaz Ali's Main Vaapas Aaunga also considered.