MUBI Opens Pawlikowski's Fatherland in US Theaters Friday
Fatherland, starring Sandra Hüller as Erika Mann, opens in select US theaters on Friday, October 23, 2026, after premiering in Competition at Cannes.
MUBI will release Pawel Pawlikowski's Fatherland in select theaters in the United States starting Friday, October 23, 2026, according to IndieWire. The film is Pawlikowski's seventh feature and premiered in Competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
Sandra Hüller plays Erika Mann, the daughter and assistant of Thomas Mann. Hanns Zischler plays Thomas Mann, and August Diehl plays his son Klaus Mann. The film follows the novelist, his daughter and his son on a road trip back to Germany as Mann accepts the Goethe prize.
Fatherland is shot in black-and-white in the Academy ratio. The cast also includes Joachim Meyerhoff as Erika's ex-husband.
Background
The project began when Italian producers pitched Pawlikowski a Colm Tóibín fictional biography of Thomas Mann, which the director rejected as a biopic. In the background of the story, Klaus Mann committed suicide around the time his father traveled to Germany for the Goethe prize, and Mann did not attend the funeral.
Pawlikowski previously directed the Oscar-nominated Cold War (2018) and the Oscar-winning Ida (2013). Hüller, who was considered a frontrunner for Best Actress at Cannes for Fatherland, won the Best Actress award at Berlin for the film Rose.
Quick answers
When does Fatherland open in US theaters?
MUBI releases Fatherland in select US theaters starting Friday, October 23, 2026.
Who stars in Fatherland?
Sandra Hüller plays Erika Mann, Hanns Zischler plays Thomas Mann and August Diehl plays Klaus Mann.
Who directed Fatherland?
Pawel Pawlikowski, in his seventh feature film.