A visually striking Cannes Competition premiere brings Paweł Pawlikowski back to the Croisette with a haunting postwar drama led by Sandra Hüller.
Fatherland (Vaterland) officially premiered in Competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2026, marking the return of director Paweł Pawlikowski to the Croisette following the international success of Ida and Cold War. Presented at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, the film quickly became one of the most discussed European productions of the festival thanks to its black-and-white cinematography, historical setting, and high-profile cast led by Sandra Hüller, Hanns Zischler, and August Diehl. The premiere drew strong attention from the international press, and festival attendees gathered outside the Palais Lumière throughout the evening.
Pawlikowski transforms postwar Europe into one of Cannes 2026’s most haunting cinematic journeys.
Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski and co-written with Hendrik Handloegten, Fatherland is set in 1949 and follows Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika Mann as they travel through postwar Germany during the early years of the Cold War. According to the official synopsis, the journey takes them from Frankfurt, under American occupation, to Soviet-controlled Weimar as they confront a country deeply marked by the aftermath of World War II. The film was shot between August and December 2025 across multiple locations in Poland and Germany, including Warsaw, Legnica, Bielsko-Biała, Weimar, and Wałbrzych.
The film reunites Paweł Pawlikowski with cinematographer Łukasz Żal, whose previous collaborations with the filmmaker on Ida and Cold War received international acclaim. The production design was handled by Marcel Sławiński and Katarzyna Sobańska, while costume design was overseen by Aleksandra Staszko. Music for the film was composed by Marcin Masecki, and editing duties were shared by Piotr Wójcik and Paweł Pawlikowski. Produced by Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Mieli, Ewa Puszczyńska, Jeanne Tremsal, Edward Berger, Dimitri Rassam, and Lorenzo Gangarossa, the project represents a major European co-production involving companies including Mubi, Our Films, Extreme Emotions Bis, Nine Hours, Chapter2, and Circle One.
The red carpet premiere brought together the principal cast and creative team, with Sandra Hüller and August Diehl among the most photographed personalities of the evening. Industry observers also highlighted the continued collaboration between Paweł Pawlikowski and Łukasz Żal, which has become closely associated with the filmmaker’s visual style. Distributed in France by Pathé Films, Fatherland currently has a runtime of 82 minutes and is positioned as one of the major European arthouse titles presented at Cannes this year.
Following the screening, the film received a sustained round of applause inside the Palais Lumière, with critics and festival journalists continuing discussions across the Croisette afterward regarding its place within the Competition lineup. As Cannes 2026 continues, Fatherland has already established itself as one of the festival’s most closely watched European productions, further reinforcing Paweł Pawlikowski’s status as one of contemporary cinema’s leading auteurs.
Tags: cannes film festival, fatherland, sandra hüller, paweł pawlikowski, european cinema
