Poland selects Paweł Pawlikowski's Fatherland as its official Oscar candidate

Selection committee decision

A nine-member selection committee appointed by the Polish Film Institute and chaired by producer Jan Naszewski unanimously selected Paweł Pawlikowski's Fatherland (Ojczyzna) on 18 September 2026. The committee evaluated seven submitted Polish titles, including features by Jan Holoubek, Piotr Domalewski, and Michał Marczak. Members described the work as a complete, multidimensional artistic achievement that combines narrative and visual craft through the contributions of Polish film artists.

Cast, narrative, and regional production

Written by Pawlikowski and Henk Handloegten, Fatherland centers on the Nobel Prize-winning German author Thomas Mann, played by Hanns Zischler, and his daughter Erika, portrayed by Sandra Hüller. Set in the summer of 1949, sixteen years after Mann left Germany, the narrative depicts father and daughter traveling in a black Buick across a divided country from American-administered Frankfurt to Soviet-controlled Weimar to attend the bicentenary of Goethe's birth. The cast also features August Diehl as Klaus Mann, Devid Striesow, and Anna Madeley.

Pawlikowski collaborated with his established technical crew, including cinematographer Łukasz Żal, costume designer Aleksandra Staszko, editor Piotr Wójcik, and production designers Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński. Although the narrative is set in Germany, filming took place primarily across Poland in Lower Silesia. Crew members constructed the interior of Mann's postwar Los Angeles home at the WFF Wrocław film studio, while outdoor scenes were shot on location in Legnica, Wałbrzych, Ludwikowice Kłodzkie, and a glassworks in Pieńsk.

International recognition and Cannes award

Fatherland held its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2026, where Pawlikowski received the Best Director prize ex aequo. The feature was produced as a multi-country venture involving companies from Poland, Germany, France, and Italy, with American distribution secured through Mubi. Following its international festival run, the film was entered into the main competition of the 51st Polish Film Festival in Gdynia to compete for the Golden Lions.

“Like my previous films, Fatherland addresses the themes of the turmoil of history, exile, and our belonging. It also connects a dramatic historical moment with a very particular human story.”

Trilogy conclusion and producer portfolio

The drama completes an informal post-war historical trilogy by Pawlikowski that began with Ida and Cold War. Film scholar and critic Michał Oleszczyk described the selection as an expected and fitting step for the director, though he noted competition in the international category from Spanish submission La Bola Negra.

For producer Ewa Puszczyńska of Extreme Emotions, Fatherland represents the fifth feature in her career submitted to the Academy Awards in the international feature category, following Ida, Cold War, Jasmila Žbanić's Quo Vadis, Aida?, and Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest.

“Some might think that because this is not my first time, there are no emotions in me. There are huge emotions, my voice is trembling and I am shaking all over.”