Greta Fernández as Iría.

“Life goes forwards not backwards”

Iria (Greta Fernández) and her mother Maura (Mercedes Castro) have established a life in Cologne, far from their rural village in the mountains of Galicia and far from the brutal ex-husband and ex-father.  Maura works at the factory of the Postel Family, where daughter Iría works as a nanny. A tragic accident at the factory leaves Maura comatose with a serious and ultimately fatal head injury. 

Iría’s has become engaged to Hajo (Jan Bülow), the son of the prominent Postel family that own the Opel factory where Maura works.   Although Hajo is affectionate with his little brothers, it's clear that his parents are cold and he accuses them of being ruthless capitalists when his father refuses to give him money although he is unable to work due to a hand injury. 

Jan Bülow as Hajo and Greta Fernández as Iría

Class differences echoes when Iría's mother Maura has a fatal accident at the factory, which due to a technicality  (as she had swopped shifts with a colleague from Burgos), her insurance cover has been invalidated.. Her relatives crowd around at the hospital fretting as to how they can raise the money for an ambulance to take her back to her village: 

“She always wanted to go back… She wouldn’t want to die in Germany”

Iría knows she wanted to go back home to die, but how?  When it is clear there is no money. Iría’s German boyfriend Hajo, gamely offers to drive her and her mother all the way to Galicia.  Maura regains some consciousness on the journey and Iría tries to give her some water, but soon realizes she has died and they  have still have to cross the border into Spain.  Through this poignant journey, Diz and Butzmühlen explore migration, family traditions, and cultural identity as so many cultural differences emerge as they travel.  It is certainly a reality shock for Hajo when the Spanish border guards harass them (and others, giving all drivers a very hard time). 

Greta Fernández Berbel (Iría) is best known for her roles in the controversial true story Elisa & Marcela (2019) by Isabel Coixet and A Thief’s Daughter (2019) directed by Belén Funes where she tries to hold her little family with her younger brother together, till the reappearance of her convict father disrupts her world. Greta Fernández has been awarded no fewer than 10 wins and 16 nominations for her work as lead and support actress in her career. Her father is the superb Eduard Fernández who excelled in his performance as a secret agent in the 2016 fact-based “El Hombre de Mil Caras” (Smoke and Mirrors) and her mother, whom she resembles, is the writer Esmeralda Berbel who wrote the TV series ‘Festival de Cine de San Sebastián’ (1995) and ‘Terrícoles’ (2013-2019).  

Berliner Jan Bülow (Hajo-above) was born in 1996, looks younger than his years and initially comes across as a somewhat immature young man. Yet, he holds his own with the strong screen presence of Greta Fernández and their chemistry is believable. Bülow known for his work on ‘Lindenberg! Mach dein Ding’ (2020) and ‘The Universal Theory; (2023), was also involved with theatrical productions playing Shakespeare’s Hamlet and other roles.

                                                            Cristina Diz, writer and co-director

The two directors Cristina Diz and Stefan Butzmühlen have worked together before on ‘Radiant Sea’ (2015) and ‘Sleepless Knights’ (2012) which was set in the endless landscapes of Estremadura. Cristina Diz studied in Barcelona and initially worked in documentaries. Her co-director Stefan Butzmühlen set out to be an actor initially, studying acting at the Vienna Conservatory.   While he was there, he started making movies and the rest is history.

                                                                Stefan Butzmühlen, writer and co-director

Through this poignant journey, Diz and Butzmühlen explore migration, entrenched family traditions, cultural identity and the different ways that families find meaning their lives. 

It is certainly unexpected for Hajo, to see Iría walked off into an office by the border officers with the excuse of passport issues.  The guards are clearly hoping to obtain some benefits from these supposedly 'rich' tourists,. They fancy Hajo’s cream Opel automatic estate but have to settle instead for his gold lighter. This was just about enough to be let through. Fortunately, the dead Maura lying in the rear is thought to be merely sleeping.

Once past the border trauma, more cultural differences about life and death seep through, despite that harsh opener, Spain turn on a more positive note as a young waitress offers them a free meal when she is unable to change their German Marks.  Arriving in the remote village is a feast of colour with family crowding about and joint meal times. 

Mercedes Castro as Maura with her daughter Iría played by Greta Fernández- travelling in the back of the car.

But Iria’s hopes to raise the funds for a separate grave for her mother are totally crushed by her violent and traditionalist brother. Knowing that her mother would hate to be lain to rest beside her abusive husband, she pleads with Hajo and her brother  to help her to little avail.   People gaze at Hajo as if he were an alien, and the undertaker even queries Iria on German customs: -

“Is it true that if you do not work well enough, they make you into soap in Germany?”

It is not something Iría feels inclined to expand on.  When Hajo also criticizes her determination to bury her mother separately, and starts getting more interested in playing naipes cards with the locals, Iría wonders if she might manage better if she does things her own way.

DIE GÄSTE (THE GUESTS - 2026)  by Cristina Diz and Stefan Butzmühlen

World premiere in cinepro competition

 SCREENPLAY: Stefan Butzmühlen, Cristina Diz 

CAST: Greta Fernández, Jan Bülow, Mercedes Castro, Darío Loureiro, Santi Prego

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Rui Poças / EDITING: Christoph Cepok / PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Jutta Freyer / PRODUCTION SOUND MIXER: Sylvain Remy / SOUND DESIGN & MIXING: Jonathan Schorr / HAIR & MAKE UP: Fanny Bello / CASTING: Kerstin Neuwirth, Ulrike Müller / PRODUCER: Viola Fügen, Michael Weber, Begüm Bakırcı, Cécile Tollu-Polonowski / PRODUCTION COMPANY: Match Factory Productions, Frida Films / CO-PRODUCER: Luisa Romeo / CO-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Frida Films, S.L. / WORLD SALES: The Match Factory /GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR: MUBI