Canadian Premiere
Mads Mengel’s film is set at an oceanside resort, where Karl (Simon Bennebjerg) and his wife are gathered with friends and family for their son’s christening. Unexpectedly, Karl’s estranged, mentally ill mother Vibeke (Trine Dyrholm) shows up to share in the celebration. What unfolds has its humorous aspects, but with long-held resentments, bottled-up emotions, and generational conflict erupting left and right, The Guest has its feet planted firmly in the tradition of Scandinavian drama.
Making his feature debut, Mengel shows a talent for dramatic escalation, and he makes the most of a truly fine cast: Bennebjerg and Dyrholm give the kind of committed, radiant performances that Danish cinema is justly famous for, as does Josephine Park in the role of second child Rikke. The supporting players are uniformly excellent, and Mengel ably evokes the feelings of suspension and confinement that resort stays bring out in visitors. This is a propulsive, highly pressurized drama; it takes us to the point of explosion and beyond.
Best Director: Special Jury Prize, Karlovy Vary 2026
Showcase Series Supported by
Community Partner
Trine Dyrholm, Simon Bennebjerg, Josephine Park, Peter Gantzler, Petrine Agger, Mette Klakstein Wiberg
Denmark
2026
In Danish with English subtitles
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Pernille Tornøe
Producer
Victor Cunha
Screenwriter
Mads Mengel, Christian Bengtson
Cinematography
David Bauer
Editor
Louis Emil Ramm Seeberg
Production Design
Rie Lykke
Original Music
Lasse Aagaard
Mads Mengel
Mads Mengel, born 1990 in Denmark, grew up in Alken, a small town in Jutland, and graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2019. His acclaimed final thesis film, For Juliane (2019), was nominated for a Danish Academy Award. Mengel later directed the series My Different Ways (2020), which was also nominated for a Danish Academy Award, and Supplex (2024), which was nominated for Best Fiction Series at the Danish TV Awards. The Guest (2026) is his feature debut.
Photo by Henrik Ohstsen
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