When does the screening of Fatherland take place?

The screening starts on November 21, 2026, at 5:45 PM and is expected to end around 7:15 PM.

Where will Fatherland be shown?

The screening takes place at the filmforum at Dellplatz 16 in 47051 Duisburg.

What is Fatherland about?

The film tells of Thomas Mann's return to Germany in 1949 and his journey through a politically and socially divided post-war Germany.

Who plays Thomas Mann and Erika Mann?

Thomas Mann is played by Hanns Zischler, Erika Mann by Sandra Hüller.

Who directed Fatherland?

The film was directed by Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski, known for Ida and Cold War – The Latitude of Love.

Is there a reading or book signing?

The event is a film screening. A reading or book signing is not scheduled for this date.

Fatherland in Duisburg 2026

Name: Fatherland
Start: 2026-11-21T17:45:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-21T19:15:00+01:00
Location: filmforum

Fatherland: Thomas Mann's Return to a Torn Germany

Paweł Pawlikowski's film Fatherland leads on November 21, 2026 to the Duisburg filmforum and connects literary history, European memory culture, and great cinema. At the center is Thomas Mann, portrayed by Hanns Zischler, who sets foot on German soil for the first time in 1949 after sixteen years in exile.

A Journey Between Exile and Home

The return of the Nobel Prize-winning author becomes an emotional encounter with a country scarred by World War II. Together with his daughter Erika Mann, played by Sandra Hüller, Thomas Mann travels through a politically and socially divided Germany. Between the American occupation zone and Soviet-controlled Weimar unfolds a road movie about memory, belonging, and the contradictory idea of fatherland.

Literary History as a Cinematic Experience

Fatherland is not interested in a smooth hero narrative. The film views Thomas Mann as a writer in the tension between public authority, private vulnerability, and historical responsibility. The literary quality of the material arises from the friction between biographical transmission and artistic imagination.

Hanns Zischler and Sandra Hüller at the Center

Hanns Zischler embodies Thomas Mann with a reserved, nuanced presence. Sandra Hüller gives Erika Mann an independent voice, making the familial relationship the emotional core of the narrative. Their shared journey creates an intimate reading atmosphere without a reading: language, silence, and glances form their own narrative rhythm.

Paweł Pawlikowski's Perspective on the Post-War Era

Director Paweł Pawlikowski, known for the award-winning films Ida and Cold War – The Latitude of Love, stages the journey as a historically charged drama. Black-and-white images, precise compositions, and a concentrated narrative style make the German post-war period palpable as a cultural and moral upheaval.

Conclusion: A Literary Cinema Experience at the filmforum Duisburg

Visitors can expect a demanding historical drama about Thomas Mann, Erika Mann, exile, and the difficult return to a destroyed Germany. Fatherland invites viewers to not only read literary history but to experience it as an intense cinematic experience. Those interested in Thomas Mann, European cinema, and the cultural discourse on memory should attend this event live at the filmforum.