Hanna Bergholm’s Nightborn won the 30th Fantasia International Film Festival’s top award the Cheval Noir Trophy for best film on Saturday night in Montreal (July 25) while Kasper Kalle’s No Rest For The Wicked earned best director honours.
Each film also produced awards for their leads, with Seidi Haarla of Nightborn and Pilou Asbæk from No Rest For The Wicked taking home an Outstanding Performance Award.
Andrea Corsini’s debut thriller Ferine also triumphed with two Cheval Noirs for Fabrizio La Palombara’s cinematography and legendary Italian composer Pino Donaggio’s score. Fantasia artistic director and director of international programming Mitch Davis presided over the ceremony at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Cinéma du Musée.
The best film jury led by Finecut founder and CEO Youngjoo Suh and comprising Catherine Corcoran, Karim Hussain, Bob Murawski, and Junnie Punter said of Nightborn, which premiered in Berlin: ”The suspense keeps you glued to the screen every single second, and the emotion in the ending is bittersweet-making you smile yet feel profoundly sad. This film will stay with us for a long time.”
Presenting the best director award to Kasper Kalle, the jury said: ”Like the captain of a sailing vessel, the director is the creative force that unites the crew, bringing all the creative elements and storytelling emotion together on the screen, and one film did that big time for both audiences and the jury. For his skillful helming of a beautifully dark period piece that reveals the discovery and acceptance of identity through a love story, the jury awards best director to Kasper Kalle.”
The festival’s New Flesh Award for Best First Feature went to the New Zealand sci-fi comedy Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant from directing duo Thunderlips. In other notable awards, Jean-Paul Guigue and Dimitri Planchon’s Blaise became the first French film to win the festival’s Satoshi Kon Award for best animated feature.
Fredrik S. Hana’s 23-minute-long Norwegian thriller Mancave earned the best short film award.
Fantasia continues through August 2. The festival opened with the Canadian premiere of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell and will close with the world premiere of Freaks Part II, from Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, whose credits include directing Final Destination Bloodlines.
Full list of 2026 winners:
2026 Cheval Noir Awards
Best Film
Nightborn (Fin-Lith-Fr-UK)
Dir. Hanna Bergholm
Best Director
Kasper Kalle, No Rest For The Wicked (Den-Faroe Islands-Ice)
Best Screenplay
Edwin, Eka Kurniawan, and Daishi Matsunaga, Sleep No More (Japan-Ger-Sing-Indo), dir. Edwin
Best Cinematography
Fabrizio La Palombara, Ferine (It), dir. Andrea Corsini
Best Editing
Satoshi Ueno, Beasts Clutching At Straws (Japan), dir. Hideo Jojo
Best Score
Pino Donaggio, Ferine (It), dir. Andrea Corsini
Outstanding Performance Award
Seidi Haarla, Nightborn (Fin-Lith-Fr-UK), dir. Hanna Bergholm
Outstanding Performance Award
Pilou Asbæk, No Rest For The Wicked (Den-Faroe Islands-Ice), dir. Kasper Kalle
Special Mention of the Jury: Full Ensemble
Hot Spot (Swe-Greece-Nor-Pol), dir. Agnieszka Smoczyńska
2026 New Flesh Competition for Best First Feature
Best first feature
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant (NZ)
Dirs. Thunderlips
Special mention of the jury
Sicko (Kazak)
Dir. Aitore Zholdaskali
2026 International Short Film Competition
Best film
Mancave (Nor)
Dir. Fredrik S. Hana
Best director
Yu Chih Chieh, The Last Jiangshi (China-HK-Tai)
Best screenplay
Kyu-eun Park and Min-hyuk Lee, Wish You Were Dead (S Kor)
Best cinematography
Jung Da Bin, Tropic (S Kor)
Best editing
Dirtmouths (USA)
Dir. Breehn Burns
Best score
The Last Jiangshi (China-HK-Tai)
Dir. Yu Chih Chieh
Outstanding performance
Ensemble, Pile On (China)
Outstanding performance
Jon Jon Briones, Veterano (USA)
Special mention of the jury
Manhole (Sing)
Dir. Jake Low
2026 Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation
Best animated feature
Blaise (Fr)
Dirs. Jean-Paul Guigue, Dimitri Planchon
Special mention of the jury
Cherry And Virgin (Japan), dir. Masanao Kawajiri
Best Short Film - gold
Jeem 1983 (Leb)
Dir. Jorj Abou Mhaya
Best Short Film - silver
Fingerbang (S Kor)
Dir. Kim Yeon-woo
Best Short Film - bronze
The End Of The End (USA- S Kor)
Dir. Junar Kim
2026 Northern Excellence Award for Canadian Filmmaking
Black Zombie (Can-Haiti)
Dir. Maya Annik Bedward
Special jury mention
Insectasy (Can)
Dir. Angus Silver
2026 Quebec Association of Film Critics (AQCC) Award
Bowels Of Hell (Bra)
Dirs. Gurcius Gewdner, Gustavo Vinagre
Special jury mention
Levitating (Indo-Sing-Fr-Tai)
Dir. Wregas Bhanute
2026 Poulain Noir Awards
Best short film - gold
When The Tide Comes (UK)
Dir. Fêt-Nat Bailly
Best short film - silver
Il N’y A Qu’un Poisson Dans L’eau (Fr)
Dirs. Hector de Ghaisne de Bourmont, Florent Delay, Ilona Laouchez, Gabrielle Montané, Julia Ragot, André Yu
Best short film - bronze
Esquisses Sur Glace (Fr-Bel)
Dir. Marion Auvin
Special jury mention
Foools (USA-Can)
Dirs. Seo Kim, Steve Manale
Special jury mention
Poisson Nuage (Bel-Fr)
Dir. Noé Garcia.
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