Shillong: Filmmaker Tejha Rio premiered his feature film Angh at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie centers on a traditional Naga village navigating a collision between old ways and new beliefs during the 1960s. Rio wrote and directed the project. He expanded the story from a 2021 short film after realizing the material required more room to breathe.
The narrative follows Anghba, an aging village chief played by Anghlong Konyak. He fights to keep his community traditions alive as a white American Baptist missionary, portrayed by Douglas Henshall, moves into the region. The chief’s mute son, Amao, played by Sobino Rengma, becomes drawn to the newcomer's faith. The story avoids physical violence, focusing instead on the quiet emotional displacement of a changing society.
Rio intentionally shifted the perspective away from the typical outsider gaze. He wanted to highlight authentic Naga experiences. As Rio stated: "From the beginning, we wanted to tell the story through the lens of an insider." He chose the father and son relationship to ground the rapid, often painful cultural transition within a universal human struggle.
The film avoids judging either side. Amao’s drift toward the church is subtle, born from a desire for comfort rather than open rebellion. Rio’s script deliberately bridges the gap between the 1960s setting and the present day. He wanted to remind audiences that history is made of real people, not just archaeological statistics or excavated remains.
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