Finnish director Hanna Bergholm's psychological thriller "Nightborn" has won the Cheval Noir, the top prize at this year's Fantasia International Film Festival, one of the world's leading genre and horror film showcases. The film's star, Seidi Haarla, who appears opposite Rupert Grint, also received the best actress award, giving the Finland/Lithuania/France/UK co-production a strong showing among this year's winners.

The festival's jury also honoured Kasper Kalle with best director for "No Rest for the Wicked", while "Sleep No More", directed by Edwin, took best screenplay for its writers Edwin, Eka Kurniawan and Daishi Matsunaga. Fabrizio La Palombara won best cinematography for the Italian horror film "Ferine", and Satoshi Ueno received the editing award for "Beasts Clutching at Straws". "Nightborn" itself was praised by jurors for its unsettling exploration of a mother's fraught relationship with her newborn child, blurring reality and illusion throughout.