The Guests
by Cristina Diz and Stefan Butzmühlen
West Germany, 1973. Iria leaves her Galician village to join her mother Maura in Cologne. Between juggling cleaning and nannying jobs for wealthy families, she immerses herself in activism and freedoms previously unknown to her. When she meets Hajo, a socialist student who dreams of a revolution, a love fuelled by their joint ambitions ignites. Then comes the accident. During her shift at the Opel factory, Maura gets severely injured and hospitalized far from home. Determined to honour her mother’s unspoken wishes, Iria resolves to bring her back to the village they’ve long avoided. Hajo, eager to prove his solidarity, offers to drive. A road trip that begins as an act of hope soon begins to expose the rifts between Iria and Hajo. As they near the village, Iria feels the weight of the past and the decision on her shoulders - should she navigate the future alone?
Featuring a stand out performance by Greta Fernández as Iria,
THE GUESTS is an intimate and moving portrayal of family sacrifice and how both where you’re from and where you go shape who you are. A film about power dynamics that connect the living with the dead, women with witches, and the past with the present.
Cristina Diz (Barcelona, 1983)
is a filmmaker and scholar. After graduating in Audiovisual Communication from Pompeu Fabra University, she completed the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris program. Besides her work as a filmmaker she is currently pursuing a PhD at Goethe-University in Frankfurt. Her first feature film with Stefan Butzmühlen SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS had its world premiere at the Berlinale.
Selected Director’s Filmography2011 I went to Berlin alone. What should I call myself?
2012 Sleepless Knights
2012 Reconstruction (short film)
2015 Light Sea (Montage)
2026 The Guests
Stefan Butzmühlen (Pegnitz, 1982)
is a filmmaker and co-founder of the production and distribution company GRANDFILM. He studied acting in Vienna and film directing at HFF Potsdam. Alongside directing films and shorts, he develops children's radio plays and directs theatre productions. His first feature film with Cristina Diz SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS had its world premiere at the Berlinale.
Selected Director’s Filmography
2010 After Klara (short film)
2012 Sleepless Knights
2012 Reconstruction (short film)
2015 Light Sea
2026 The Guests
Greta Fernández ~ as Iria
Jan Bülow ~ as Hajo
Mercedes Castro ~ as Maura
Darío Loureiro ~ as Lois
Santi Prego ~ as Carlos
Written and directed by: Cristina Diz,
Stefan Butzmühlen
Cinematographer: Rui Poças
Production Sound Mixer: Sylvain Remy
Sound Designer: Jonathan Schorr
Casting Directors: Ulrike Müller, Kerstin Neuwirth,
Conchi Iglesias
Production Designer: Jutta Freyer
Costume Designer: Genoveva Kylburg
Art Director: Melania Freire
Make-up Designer: Fanny Bello
Hair Designer: Natalia Montoya
Editor: Christoph Cepok
Line Producers: Sebastian Fröhlich,
José Salgueiro
Post Production Supervisor: Juan Galva
Associate Producer: Rui Poças
Executive Producers: Efe Çakarel, Jason Ropell,
Jenny Walendy, Armin Schneider
Co-Producer: Luisa Romeo
Producers: Begüm Bakırcı, Cécile Tollu-Polonowski
Produced by: Viola Fügen, Michael Weber
Original title: Die Gäste, Os Invitados
International title: The Guests
Duration: 94 min
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Format: DCP
Sound: 5.1
Year: 2026
Original languages: German, Spanish, Galician
Countries of production: Germany, Spain
Production Companies: Match Factory Productions, Frida Films, S.L.
Co-production Companies: Frida Films
With the support of: Armin Schneider (Private Investor – Berlin)
