by Alex Billington
May 28, 2026
Source: YouTube
“Mr. Mann, which side are you on? Stalin or Mickey Mouse?” Mubi has unveiled the official trailer for the film Fatherland, the latest from acclaimed Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski. This just premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival earlier this month, where it won the Best Director prize (in a tie) at the end. Our critic wrote an excellent review of it at the festival – one of the best in this year’s line-up. After the end of WWII, Fatherland centers on the relationship between writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika — actress, writer & rally driver — as they embark on a road trip in a black Buick cruiser across a Germany in ruins, from U.S. dominated Frankfurt to Soviet controlled Weimar. Pawlikowski picks up where he left off with his award-winning Ida and Cold War, exploring – in his elliptic, distilled way – the themes of identity, family, love and guilt amid the turmoil and confusion of post-war Europe. Starring Sandra Hüller and Hanns Zischler, with August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Anna Madeley. With cinematography by iconic Polish DP Lukasz Zal. Releasing this fall after it plays at other festivals, too. Gorgeous trailer! A must see.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Paweł Pawlikowski’s film Fatherland, from Mubi’s YouTube:
Fatherland centres on the relationship between the Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller), actress, writer and rally driver. In the summer of 1949, at the height of the Cold War, father and daughter embark on a challenging and emotional road trip in a black Buick taking them across a Germany in ruins – from US dominated Frankfurt to Soviet controlled Weimar. Returning home after 16 years of exile in the US, Thomas Mann has to face not only a divided fatherland, but also deep fracture within his own family. Fatherland, also known as Vaterland in German, is directed by acclaimed Polish writer / filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski, director of the films The Stringer, Last Resort, My Summer of Love, The Woman in the Fifth, Ida, and Cold War previously. The screenplay is written by Paweł Pawlikowski & Henk Handloegten. It’s produced by Edward Berger, Lorenzo Gangarossa, Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Mieli, Ewa Puszczynska, Dimitri Rassam, Jeanne Tremsal. This just premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival playing in the Main Competition. Mubi debuts Pawlikowski’s Fatherland film in art house theaters starting in fall 2026. Stay tuned for the exact release date. Who wants to watch this?
