Nightborn (Yön Lapsi)
Hanna Bergholm
Something is terribly wrong with her baby – Saga is sure of this. She and her husband Jon have just moved into her childhood home, located deep within the enchanting forests of Finland. Here, they plan to build a new life, renovate the house, and have children. But what staring back at her from the crib is barely human: it howls like a hungry bear, burns in sunlight, and is a biter – it sucks blood instead of breast milk. Terrified of this sinister presence in her house, Saga seeks help and support from her family, only to receive unwanted tips on parenting and motherhood in return. No one believes that the child is not human; after all, every baby is different. As she fears she is losing her mind, the dark forest from outside begins to seep into the house. Ancient roots, relentless nature and at its centre her little child: a Nightborn – horror and catharsis for every mother.
After her feature film debut Hatching (2022), Finnish director Hanna Bergholm takes a look at the bizarre, abnormal and traumatising aspects of motherhood –not through pure horror, but always with a touch of humor.
29 April 2026
21:00 h, Kino des DFF
More information
| Direction | Hanna Bergholm |
| Country | Finland, Lithuania, France, United Kingdom |
| Production year | 2026 |
| Duration | 92 min |
| Language | Finnish, English |
| Language Version | OV with German Subs |
| Production | Daniel Kuitunen, Noëmie Devide |
| Production company | Elokuvayhtiö Komeetta Oy |
| Co-production | Getaway Films, Filmai LT, Bluelight Nightborn Limited |
| Distribution | Goodfellas |
| Cast | Seidi Haarla, Rupert Grint |
| Director of Photography | Pietari Peltola |
| Script | Ilja Rautsi, Hanna Bergholm |
| Montage | Jussi Rautaniemi |
| Sound | Micke Nyström |
| Music | Eicca Toppinen |
| Sound Design | Micke Nyström |
BERLINALE 2026
About the director
Hanna Bergholm is a finnish director and screenwriter from Helsinki. Between 2002 and 2018, she directed 9 short films, some of which won international awards. Her feature-length debut was the supernatural family-horror Hatching, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022. After being part of the Berlinale's talent campus in 2012, she returned this year with her second feature film, Nightborn, competing for the prestigious golden bear.
Press reviews
"Funny and creepy in equal measure, the sophomore feature of this 45-year-old Finnish director is a successful endeavour. It transforms the worst nightmares of a first-time mum into something graphic and boisterous. [...] [Hanna Bergholm] skillfully recycles Scandinavian folklore images, in a way not dissimilar to David Bruckner’s The Ritual (2017). Overall, this is vivid, livid and chilling fun." (Victor Fraga for DMovies)
"Seidi Haarla is compelling as a woman at her wits’ end, running on fumes, but special mention must go to grown-up Harry Potter star Grint as the patronizing Jon. [...] It presages a gloriously grisly final act that proves Saga horribly right while at the same time being surprisingly cathartic in a very strange way. [...] Bergholm has a lot of fun with all these elements, and seasoned genre audiences — who are so very well versed in misdirection by now — should too." (Damon Wise for Deadline)
International Feature Film Program
