Nightborn Wins Fantasia's Cheval Noir for Best Film
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- "Nightborn" won the Cheval Noir for Best Film at the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival; directed by Hanna Bergholm, the Finland/Lithuania/France/U.K. psychological thriller follows a mother who refuses to accept a threatening child she perceives as an 'it.'
- Seidi Haarla won both Best Actress and Outstanding Performance for her role opposite Rupert Grint in "Nightborn," with the jury citing her 'dark humor, astonishing physicality, and heart-wrenching body horror.'
- Pino Donaggio, the 84-year-old composer of "Don't Look Now" and "Carrie," won Best Score for the Italian film "Ferine," with the jury calling it a 'return of a revered screen composer.'
- Kasper Kalle won Best Director for "No Rest for the Wicked," a Denmark/Faroe Islands/Iceland period piece about identity through a love story; Pilou Asbæk also won Outstanding Performance for the same film.
- Edwin, Eka Kurniawan, and Daishi Matsunaga shared Best Screenplay for "Sleep No More," a Japan/Germany/Singapore/Indonesia film blending Asian folklore, workers' rights, and extreme body horror, which also earned a Special Mention for its handmade practical effects.
- The festival introduced its first-ever Best Editing award, won by Satoshi Ueno for Japan's "Beasts Clutching at Straws," with the jury invoking an Orson Welles quote on the editor's role as 'the last stop on the long road.'
- THUNDERLIPS won the New Flesh Award for Best First Feature with New Zealand's "Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant," praised by the jury as 'best alien penis of the festival.'
Why it matters: The awards cap a juried competition judged by industry figures including Oscar-winning editor Bob Murawski and Variety's Junnie Punter, spotlighting genre cinema from 10+ countries. Donaggio's Best Score at 84 marks a rare generational return, while Fantasia's first-ever Best Editing award signals the festival broadening its craft recognition beyond directing and performance.
