Poland Sends Pawlikowski's Fatherland to the Oscars
Poland has chosen Paweł Pawlikowski's Fatherland as its entry for the Oscar for best international feature, the Academy category for films made outside the United States, as reported by Variety on 18 September 2026.
The choice is official. Each country puts forward one film for the category, and Poland has settled on Pawlikowski's latest.
The film is a black-and-white drama set after the Second World War. It was directed by Pawlikowski, the Oscar-winning Polish director, according to Variety.
The story follows German novelist Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika on a road trip across Germany in 1949, as reported by Variety. It is a father-and-daughter journey through a country in ruins. The programme notes the trip as the spine of the film.
Sandra Hüller stars as Erika. Hanns Zischler plays Thomas Mann.
The wider cast includes August Diehl, Devid Striesow and Anna Madeley, Variety reported. Hüller is the most familiar face for international audiences. Zischler takes on the role of the celebrated German writer.
Pawlikowski wrote the script with Henk Handloegten. Łukasz Żal, his regular collaborator, handled the cinematography.
The story is set in Germany but was shot mainly in Poland, according to Variety. That kind of cross-border shoot is common in European production, where locations double for neighbouring countries. Here, Polish towns and roads stand in for postwar Germany.
Fatherland had its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Cannes noticed. Pawlikowski won the best director prize for the film.
The festival run continues beyond France. The film will open the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, according to Variety. An opening slot is the gala that launches the event. It is also an NYFF64 selection making its New York debut at the festival.
For audiences new to Pawlikowski, the name carries history. His black-and-white Polish drama Ida won the Oscar for best foreign language film, as reported by Reuters. Ida was directed by Pawlikowski.
What makes this stand out is the return to familiar ground. A Polish submission. A director who has won this Oscar before. A black-and-white period piece moving from Cannes to Sarajevo to New York and now into the awards season.
