FATHERLAND to Open at Film Forum | Pawlikowski's Cannes Winner

Film Forum will present the US theatrical premiere of FATHERLAND, directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, on Friday, October 23.

From the Academy Award-nominated director of IDA and COLD WAR (both Film Forum premieres): FATHERLAND follows Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler, KINGS OF THE ROAD) and his actress daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller, ANATOMY OF A FALL) as they drive across a war-ravaged 1949 Germany. Returning home after years of exile in the U.S. and exuding a superhuman gravitas, Mann finds the Germany he knew to be gone, replaced by a country with contradictory ideologies. Erika, who acts as his travel coordinator and translator, strives to pierce his detached persona while quietly struggling with a family tragedy.

FATHERLAND is Poland's Official Selection for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. The film had its world premiere in the main competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where Pawlikowski won the award for Best Director, and was selected for the Telluride Film Festival, Main Slate of the New York Film Festival, and more. It is Pawlikowski's follow-up to IDA, 2013 Academy Award winner for Best International Film, and COLD WAR (2018), nominated for three Oscars, including Best Director.

About the Film

FATHERLAND (2026, 82 minutes) Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski. Screenplay by Paweł Pawlikowski, Henk Handloegten. Producers: Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Mieli, Ewa Puszczyńska, Jeanne Tremsal, Edward Berger, Dimitri Rassam, Lorenzo Gangarossa. Cinematography: Łukasz Żal. Editing: Paweł Pawlikowski, Piotr Wójcik Psm. Sound: Lars Ginzel, Tarn Willer. Starring: Sandra Hüller (Erika Mann), Hanns Zischler (Thomas Mann), August Diehl (Klaus Mann). Poland/Germany/Italy/France. A MUBI Release.

The film is presented with support from The Ashes and Diamonds Fund for Eastern European Film.

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