IIFA honours Nagaland government with Golden Beaver Award 2026

KOHIMA — The India Film Festival of Alberta (IIFA) presented the Golden Beaver Award 2026 to the Government of Nagaland for its outstanding contribution to Arts, Culture and Music.

The IFFA foundation in an update on X (Twitter) credited the Nagaland government for advancing Indigenous arts and cultural exchange, and expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio, Abu Metha and Theja Meru for their support.

Neiphiu Rio also extended gratitude to the IFFA foundation for presenting the Golden Beaver Award 2026 to the Government of Nagaland. “We remain committed to bringing Nagaland's stories, heritage, and creativity to the world while strengthening our cultural engagement”, he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Rio also congratulated producer AR Rehman, Director Rohit Gupta and the entire team of Headhunting to Beatboxing on winning best documentary at IFFA. “A proud moment for Nagaland, celebrating our musical heritage, cultural identity, and music's power to inspire change”, he said.

IFFA also honoured legendary actress Raadika Sarathkumar for her exceptional contributions to Indian cinema.

The list of IFFA award 2026 winners:

Best director: jointly received by Pradip Kurbha for ‘The elysian field’ and Srijit Mukherji for ‘winkle Twinkle’.

Best feature film: Baththa (Tamil) and Gondhal (Marathi)

Best Feature Film (Indigenous Voices): jointly received by Shape of Momo and Romantic Affairs

Best Actor (Female): Ishita Deshmukh for Gondhal

Best Actor (Male): Raju Roy for Kok Kok Kokook