Sandra Hüller and Hanns Zischler cross post-war Germany in Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland

Sandra Hüller and Hanns Zischler lead Fatherland, the new film from Ida and Cold War director Paweł Pawlikowski, which arrives in UK and Irish cinemas this October.

Set in the summer of 1949, the film follows Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann (Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Hüller) as they travel across a Germany still recovering from war and increasingly divided by the Cold War. Returning after 16 years of exile in the US, Thomas journeys from American-controlled Frankfurt to Soviet-controlled Weimar while also facing tensions within his own family.

The film premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where Pawlikowski shared the Best Director award.

Hüller, whose recent films include Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, stars alongside Zischler, August Diehl, Devid Striesow and Anna Madeley. Pawlikowski co-wrote the screenplay with Henk Handloegten.

Behind the camera, the director reunites with several long-time collaborators, including cinematographer Łukasz Żal, costume designer Aleksandra Staszko and production designers Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński.

With its father-daughter relationship unfolding against the backdrop of a country being politically and physically reshaped, Fatherland brings Pawlikowski back to the historical terrain that has defined some of his best-known work.

The editorial unit

Fatherland is released nationwide on 23^rd October 2026.

Watch the trailer for Fatherland here: