THE GUEST (2026)

The day before Karl and Emilie’s son’s naming party, Karl’s estranged mother Vibeke arrives unannounced. Hoping to rejoin the family and prove herself as a grandmother, she inserts herself into the intimate weekend gathering at a seaside hotel. While Karl is furious, his sister Rikke insists Vibeke deserves a second chance. Over the course of the weekend, tensions rise, old patterns resurface, and long-buried family dynamics play out in front of confused in-laws and curious guests. What begins as a celebration quietly unravels into a confrontation with the past, filled with missteps, unresolved wounds, and moments of surprising warmth. 

“The Guest” is a sharply observed drama about roles we inherit, the people we try to become, and the impossibility of ever fully escaping where we come from. Told with both humor and heart, it’s a story about a family trying to hold it together when everything starts to fall apart.

Title: THE GUEST
Original title: GÆSTEN
Directors: Mads Mengel
Cast: Simon Bennebjerg, Trine Dyrholm, Josephine Park, Petrine Agger, Peter Gantzler, Mette Wiiberg Klakstein, Kristine Kujath Thorp
Genre: Drama
Format: 99 minutes
Language: Danish
Country of origin: Denmark
Screenwriters: Christian Bengtson & Mads Mengel
Cinematographer: David Bauer, DFF
Editor: Louis Emil Ramm Seeberg
Production Company: Monolit Film
Producer: Victor Cunha
Executive producer: Pernille Tornøe

Production year: 2026
World premiere: 5th of July 2026 - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Local release: June 2027
Film status: Completed