Crystal Globe Competition / Gæsten / Denmark 2026
Fresh parents Karl and Emilie are looking forward to a weekend at a seaside hotel, where they plan to announce their child’s name and thus officially welcome him to the world. A day before the celebration, however, Karl’s mother Vibeke shows up, with whom he hasn’t spoken in several years. Building on the tradition of contemporary Nordic cinema, debut filmmaker Mads Mengel tells the intimate story of a family that threatens to fall apart when old wounds are opened up. What begins as a close-knit celebration turns into an uncomfortable confrontation with an unresolved past that won’t let the film’s protagonists forget who they really are – or where they come from.
Sandra Hezinová
99 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Mads Mengel
/ Screenplay Mads Mengel, Christian Bengtson
/ Dir. of Photography David Bauer
/ Music Lasse Aagaard
/ Sound Andreas Sandborg
/ Editor Louis Emil Ramm Seeberg
/ Art Director Rie Lykke
/ Producer Victor Cunha
/ Production Monolit Film
/ Cast Trine Dyrholm, Simon Bennebjerg, Josephine Park
/ Sales LevelK
Mads Mengel. Selected filmography: Chaos (Kaos, 2010, short), 1984 (2016, short), For Juliane (Forestillingen om Juliane, 2019, short), Supplex (Ikke et ord, 2023, TV series), The Guest (Gæsten, 2026).
LevelK
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Denmark
Phone: +45 201 085 80
E-mail: [email protected]
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