Nightborn leads Fantasia awards with Cheval Noir best film win
Hanna Bergholm’s Nightborn took the top Cheval Noir prize as Fantasia named its 2026 juried award winners.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Hanna Bergholm’s Nightborn came out on top at the 2026 Nightborn Fantasia awards race, winning the Cheval Noir prize for best film at the Fantasia International Film Festival’s juried awards.
The Finland, Lithuania, France and U.K. production also earned an acting honor for Seidi Haarla, who stars opposite Rupert Grint. The Cheval Noir jury described the film as a psychological thriller about a mother whose expected child becomes a source of fear, with the story hovering between reality and illusion.
Who won the Fantasia Awards 2026?
In the Cheval Noir competition, Nightborn won best film, while Kasper Kalle was named best director for No Rest for the Wicked, a Denmark, Faroe Islands and Iceland production. The jury said Kalle’s film brought together a dark period setting, a love story and a story of identity.
The screenplay award went to Edwin, Eka Kurniawan and Daishi Matsunaga for Sleep No More, directed by Edwin. The jury cited its blend of Asian folklore, humor, workers’ rights and body horror.
Ferine, directed by Andrea Corsini, picked up two Cheval Noir prizes: best cinematography for Fabrizio La Palombara, CCS, and best score for Pino Donaggio. The jury praised the film’s visual approach to Italian horror and noted Donaggio’s return as a screen composer.
The new Cheval Noir editing award went to Satoshi Ueno for Hideo Jojo’s Beasts Clutching at Straws. The jury pointed to the film’s pace, nonlinear structure and transitions.
Two Outstanding Performance Awards were handed out: one to Haarla for Nightborn and one to Pilou Asbæk for No Rest for the Wicked. The Cheval Noir jury also gave special mentions to the ensemble of Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s Hot Spot and to the practical effects team behind Sleep No More: Jabrik Hellworker, Benedictus A.K., Rizal and Issei Oda.
What is the Cheval Noir award at Fantasia?
The Cheval Noir awards are Fantasia’s juried feature-film prizes, covering categories including best film, director, screenplay, cinematography, editing, score and performance. This year’s Cheval Noir jury was led by Finecut founder and CEO Youngjoo Suh.
The New Flesh competition for best first feature went to New Zealand’s Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant, directed by THUNDERLIPS. A special mention for performance went to Dilnaz Kurmangali and Ayan Utepburgen for Sicko, directed by Aitore Zholdaskali.
In the international short film competition, Fredrik S. Hana’s Norwegian short Mancave won best film. Yu Chih Chieh won best director for The Last Jiangshi, which also won best score, while Kyu-eun Park and Min-hyuk Lee won best screenplay for Wish You Were Dead.
The Satoshi Kon Award for best animated feature went to Blaise, directed by Jean-Paul Guigue and Dimitri Planchon. Cherry and Virgin, directed by Masanao Kawajiri, received a special mention from the animation jury.
For animated shorts, the Satoshi Kon gold prize went to Jorj Abou Mhaya’s Jeem 1983, with silver for Kim Yeon-woo’s Fingerbang and bronze for Junar Kim’s The End of the End.
The Northern Excellence Award for Canadian Filmmaking went to Maya Annik Bedward’s Black Zombie, with a special mention for Angus Silver’s Insectasy. The Quebec Association of Film Critics award went to Gurcius Gewdner and Gustavo Vinagre’s Bowels of Hell, while the Poulain Noir gold short-film prize went to Fêt-Nat Bailly’s When The Tide Comes.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.