Pawel Pawlikowski Set to Direct ‘Fatherland’

In June 2023, Pawel Pawlikowski’s “The Island,” which was supposed to star Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, had its production halted after bond companies refused to insure it ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Despite Mara’s optimism that the project might one day get revived, Pawlikowski has now put it aside and officially moved on to another project. This one might be shooting as early as this summer.

Pawlikowski’s next film will be “Fatherland” which is bring described as “ambitious” in scope. The project recently received a German grant of 200,000 euros. The producer of Pawlikowski’s latest is none other than Oscar winner Edward Berger ("Conclave") with his production company nine hours.

Directed by Pawlikowski ("Cold War"), who wrote the screenplay together with Henk Handloegten ("Babylon Berlin"), ”Fatherland” is an adaptation of Colm Tóibín's novel "The Magician” which in turn tackles one of the great novelists of the 20th century.

The story is a “fictionalized autobiography” of German author Thomas Mann. The narrative follows Mann's life from his childhood in Lübeck, through his marriage in Munich, his opposition to the Nazi regime, and his subsequent exile in the United States.

In the novel, Tóibín delves into the complexities of Mann's identity, portraying his internal conflicts between personal desires and familial duties, as well as his struggle to reconcile his bourgeois upbringing with his artistic ambitions.

No word yet on whether Pawlikowski’s go-to cinematographer, Łukasz Żal will be lensing the film — he is coming off “The Zone of Interest,” and has turned into a much sought DP. If I had to bet, he’ll be there as he was also supposed to shoot “The Island” with Pawlikowski before that project got shelved.

Pawlikowski’s last two films, “Ida” and “Cold War,” were critically-acclaimed films, both shot in black and white. Pawlikowski had also directed the wonderful 2004 coming-of-age romance “My Summer of Love.”