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Yön Lapsi

Nightborn
Competition 2026
© Pietari Peltola
With dreams of starting a perfect family, Saga and her British husband Jon move to the isolated house deep in the Finnish forest where Saga spent much of her childhood. But as soon as their baby is born, despite the reassurances of everyone around her, Saga knows something is terribly wrong. As their marriage starts to crack and Jon struggles to support his wife, only Saga suspects the disturbing truth about their newborn child.
by Hanna Bergholm (Director, Screenplay), Ilja Rautsi (Screenplay)
with Seidi Haarla, Rupert Grint, Pamela Tola, Pirkko Saisio, Rebecca Lacey, John Thomson Finland / Lithuania / France / United Kingdom 2026 Finnish, English 92' Colour World premiere

With

  • Seidi Haarla (Saga)
  • Rupert Grint (Jon)
  • Pamela Tola (Taru)
  • Pirkko Saisio (Saga's Mother)
  • Rebecca Lacey (Jon’s Mother)
  • John Thomson (Jon's Father)

Crew

Director Hanna Bergholm
Screenplay Ilja Rautsi, Hanna Bergholm
Cinematography Pietari Peltola
Editing Jussi Rautaniemi
Music Eicca Toppinen
Sound Design Micke Nyström
Production Design Kari Kankaanpää
Costumes Tiina Kaukanen
Make-Up Riikka Virtanen
Casting Shakyra Dowling, Ansku Sinisalo, Milda Augustaityte, Hanna Bergholm
Producers Daniel Kuitunen, Noëmie Devide
Executive Producers Brahim Chioua, Nick Shumaker, Scott Shooman, Emily Gotto, David Levine
Co-Producers Arturas Dvinelis, Alain De La Mata, Christopher Granier-Deferre

Produced by

Elokuvayhtiö Komeetta Oy

Helsinki, Finland

Co-produced by

Getaway Films

Paris, France

Filmai LT

Vilnius, Lithuania

Bluelight Nightborn Limited

London, United Kingdom

World Sales

Goodfellas

Paris, France

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Hanna Bergholm

© Laura Malmivaara

The Finnish director made a number of short films and television series before her debut feature film, the horror drama Hatching. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, was named the eighth best horror movie of the year 2022 by Rotten Tomatoes and won awards including the Grand Prize and the Youth Jury Award at the Gérardmer Film Festival in France, the prize for Best Special Effects at Sitges and three Jussi Awards in Finland.

Filmography (selection)

2018 Nukkemestari (Puppet Master); short film 2022 Pahanhautoja (Hatching) 2026 Yön Lapsi (Nightborn)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026