First Look at Pawel Pawlikowski’s Fatherland Starring Sandra Hüller, a Palme d’Or Contender
Paweł Pawlikowski’s latest feature, Fatherland, has made its first appearance ahead of its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
The image showcases stars Sandra Hüller and Hanns Zischler, whose stoic expressions hint at the emotional journey ahead.
Fatherland explores the complex relationship between Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann (Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Hüller), who is portrayed as an actress, writer, and rally driver. Set during the Cold War, the narrative follows the father-daughter duo on an emotional road trip through a war-torn Germany, traveling in a black Buick from U.S.-occupied Frankfurt to Soviet-controlled Weimar.
This film marks a continued collaboration for Pawlikowski with his established filmmaking team, including Lukasz Zal, Aleksandra Staszko, Katarzyna Sobańska, and Marcel Sławiński. The Match Factory is managing international sales, while Mubi holds distribution rights in several regions, including North America, Latin America, the UK, and Australia, among others.
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Fatherland has been selected to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or, joining the ranks of other notable films such as Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love, Lazlo Nemes’ Moulin, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Sheep in the Box.







