in 2001, gutiérrez created his own production company aiming to make films with an international reach. in 2002, he was invited by tve program "versión española" to direct a piece for the series "diminutos del calvario ii". news of gutiérrez's "la habitacion de norman" ("norman's room"), a claustrophobic tribute to "psycho", was published by film industry magazines in the united states. in the same year, he won the universal studios award and visited los angeles for the first time. in 2007, gutiérrez received an offer from antonio banderas and antonio pérez to direct his first feature film, "before the fall" (2008) which entered the official section "special panorama" at the berlin film festival.