FATHERLAND centres on the relationship between the Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) – actress, writer and rally driver. In the summer of 1949, at the height of the Cold War, father and daughter embark on a challenging and emotional road trip in a black Buick taking them across a Germany in ruins – from US dominated Frankfurt to Soviet controlled Weimar. Returning home after sixteen years of exile in the US, Thomas Mann has to face not only a divided fatherland, but also a deep fracture within his own family.

From two⁠-⁠time Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu, a Norwegian woman and her devout Romanian husband relocate with their five children to a remote, close⁠-⁠knit, coastal town. Their teenage children form a fast bond with a neighboring family as unease begins to simmer around their rigid beliefs. When allegations of abuse emerge, they are forced to confront a system of judgment that blurs the line between concern and prejudice.