FATHERLAND

Fatherland centers on the relationship between the Nobel Prize-winning German writer Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) - actress, writer, and rally driver. Award-winning Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski uses a dramatic historical moment and unique personal story to explore political turmoil, exile, and returning to one's homeland. 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 sixteen years of exile in the US, Thomas Mann faces not only a divided fatherland, but also a deep fracture within his own family. With Fatherland, Pawlikowski picks up where he left off with his award-winning Ida and Cold War, exploring the themes of identity, family, love, and guilt amid the upheaval and confusion of post-war Europe. Fatherland is Poland's submission to the Oscars for Best International Feature.