When will the screening of Fatherland take place?

The screening starts on Friday, November 27, 2026, at 3:30 PM.

Where will Fatherland be shown?

The film will be shown at filmforum at Dellplatz 16 in 47051 Duisburg.

How long is the film?

Fatherland has a runtime of 81 minutes.

How much does admission cost?

The regular admission price for the screening is 9.90 euros.

What age is the film suitable for?

The film is suitable for ages 0 and up.

What is Fatherland about?

The film tells the story of Thomas Mann's return to Germany in 1949 and connects the historical journey with questions of exile, memory, and cultural responsibility.

Thomas Mann's Return: An Intense Cinematic Experience between Exile, Memory, and German History

Name: Fatherland
Start: 2026-11-27T15:30:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-27T17:00:00+01:00
Location: filmforum

Fatherland: Thomas Mann's Return to a Torn Germany

At the filmforum Duisburg, Fatherland unfolds a historically charged cinematic experience that intertwines literary history, exile experience, and German memory culture. The film accompanies Thomas Mann in 1949 on his first return to Germany since his emigration in 1933.

A Literary Portrait of Homecoming and Alienation

Paweł Pawlikowski condenses the historically documented journey of Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika into a precise drama about belonging, political responsibility, and the difficult encounter with a country that lies in ruins after war and dictatorship. The return becomes a test of literary authority: What does homecoming mean when the familiar homeland has been irrevocably changed morally and politically?

Black-and-White as an Expression of Memory

The cool black-and-white photography and the tight 4:3 format give the film a concentrated, almost historical visual language. Pawlikowski's restrained direction works without camera movements and focuses on faces, spaces, and tensions. This creates an intimate reading atmosphere in the cinema, where language, silence, and posture acquire significance equally.

Hanns Zischler as Melancholic Returnee

Hanns Zischler embodies Thomas Mann as an eloquent, distant, and melancholic writer. Sandra Hüller plays Erika Mann with great expressiveness; August Diehl and Joachim Meyerhoff complete the ensemble. The characters encounter a German post-war society whose cultural self-presentation sharply contrasts with its repressed past.

Literary History Becomes Cultural Discourse

Fatherland connects biographical cinema with a reflection on exile, memory, and the political role of writers. The film does not present Thomas Mann as an ethereal monument but as a contradictory figure in the tension between European public life, familial closeness, and historical responsibility. With a runtime of 81 minutes, the screening offers a concentrated literary experience for all who wish to view film art and German-speaking literary history together.

Conclusion: An Intense Film Evening at the Filmforum

Visitors can expect an atmospheric drama about homecoming, alienation, and the aftereffects of exile. The combination of historical research, visual rigor, and linguistic craftsmanship makes this screening a unique author encounter on the screen. Those who wish to rediscover Thomas Mann in the cultural memory will experience a compelling evening between cinema and literature at the filmforum Duisburg.