Bergholm's 'Nightborn' Wins Fantasia Cheval Noir Best Film
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- Hanna Bergholm's "Nightborn" (Finland/Lithuania/France/U.K.) won the Cheval Noir trophy for best film at the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival, with the jury praising its suspense and bittersweet emotion.
- Seidi Haarla, who stars opposite Rupert Grint in "Nightborn," won the Outstanding Performance Award for her portrayal of a mother unraveling under family expectations.
- Kasper Kalle's "No Rest for the Wicked" (Denmark/Faroe Islands/Iceland) won best director, and Pilou Asbæk took best actor for the same film.
- Andrea Corsini's Italian film "Ferine" won both best cinematography (Fabrizio La Palombara) and best score for 84-year-old composer Pino Donaggio, a veteran of "Don't Look Now" and "Carrie."
- Edwin's "Sleep No More" (Japan/Germany/Singapore/Indonesia) won best screenplay and earned a special mention for its handmade practical effects, including an "angry and ravenous hair monster."
- THUNDERLIPS' debut "Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant" (New Zealand) won the New Flesh Award for Best First Feature, while Fredrik S. Hana's "Mancave" (Norway) won best short film.
- Fabrizio La Palombara's cinematography award for "Ferine" marks the festival's first-ever Cheval Noir for best editing, awarded to Satoshi Ueno for "Beasts Clutching at Straws."
Why it matters: Fantasia juried awards offer genre filmmakers a Cannes-adjacent stamp of credibility that can drive distribution deals for winners like "Nightborn," which now carries both best film and best actress recognition — a rare double that signals strong performance-driven material to international buyers.
