It is 1963 and Christianity has overwhelmingly taken a hold of Nagaland. Abandoned by his tribe and living in isolation following his wife’s death, a village chief and former feared and respected Headhunter proudly holds onto his ancestral ways, determined to carry them on to posterity through his son, Amao. But all the teenage boy wants is a sense of belonging.

Commanding visuals that evoke an aura of mythical proportions immerse us into a fascinating and little-known part of history. Working with non-actors from the indigenous population, Theja Rio tells a small intergenerational tale with beautiful intimacy, while also confidently inviting us to contemplate questions of immense scope and complexity, such as the political repercussions of homogenization of culture and the cost of religion to centuries-old tradition and thought.

The film won a Special Jury Award at the 2021 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

DIRECTOR

Theja Rio is the writer/director for the short film ANGH. At 26, he has 4 short films in his resume. In 2019, he also wrote and directed a short film called SILENUS with an international crew from the UK, Italy, Belgium and Poland. It is being edited in Rome.