A spellbinding evening with Pawel Pawlikowski and his masterpiece FATHERLAND at the Greek premiere of the 32nd Athens International Film Festival

The Oscar-winning director of "Ida" and "Cold War" presented his highly anticipated FATHERLAND, which earned him the Best Director Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

“Culture Against Barbarism.”

On Saturday, August 29, the Athens International Film Festival and Spentzos Film presented the glamorous Greek premiere of FATHERLAND, which won the Best Director Award at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, in the presence of Oscar-winning director Pawel Pawlikowski. It was an unforgettable cinematic evening, hosted in the enchanting and imposing courtyard of the Byzantine and Christian Museum, beneath the light of the full moon.

The audience was welcomed by Loukas Katsikas, Artistic Director of the Athens International Film Festival, and Fotini Chatzivasileiou, Marketing Manager, and Dimitra Argyraki, Communications Manager, of the distribution company Spentzos Film.

Loukas Katsikas then invited Paweł Pawlikowski to join him and address the audience, expressing his gratitude and pride at presenting “the best film of 2026” as part of the 32nd Athens International Film Festival. He said:

“With its own understated and suggestive manner, its minimalist style and modest running time, ‘FATHERLAND’ is a welcome antidote to cinema of overextended narratives and contrived, grandiose ideas. It is a cinematic gem, dedicated to the belief that art and culture will endure forever, above all else, despite adversity and in defiance of every form of barbarism.”

He then gave the floor to the acclaimed Polish filmmaker, who was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the Athens audience. Paweł Pawlikowski thanked the Festival for screening FATHERLAND in Athens, which, as he shared, has now become his “second home.” Addressing the audience, he wished them an enjoyable screening and clarified that “the film does not seek to teach, but, in such a complex era, to offer food for thought.”

Following the screening, a conversation between Paweł Pawlikowski and Loukas Katsikas took place, during which the director shared the circumstances and sources of inspiration behind the film, noting, among other things:

“I do feel a certain nostalgia for the time when things happened in the ‘analog’ realm, in a world before everything was transferred into the digital sphere. A nostalgia for a three-dimensional world, for a certain clarity, without this barrage of information and noise, where you can see things a little more clearly.”

Loukas Katsikas and Paweł Pawlikowski during their conversation following the screening.

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS

The special evening was honored by the presence of prominent figures from the worlds of cinema, museums and the arts, as well as representatives of institutions and organizations, alongside friends and collaborators of the award-winning director. Joining us were: Leonidas Christopoulos, CEO of EKKOMED; Roxani Bei, President of OPANDA; Maro Banteka, Director of the Mayor’s Office; Eleni Zontirou, Deputy Mayor for Municipal Police & Municipal Public Spaces; Lefteris Giovanidis, President of the Board of Directors of Zappeion Hall; Sirago Tsiara, General Director of the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum; and Stavros Benos, former Minister of Culture.

The Festival’s General Director Tatiana Pappa, Leonidas Christopoulos and Themis Bazaka.

It was a particular honor to welcome to the screening the distinguished film critic and longtime supporter of the Athens International Film Festival, Giannis Bakogiannopoulos. Also in attendance were directors Giorgos Zois, Eva Stefani, Giannis Sakaridis, Ilias Giannakakis, and Renos Charalambidis; documentary filmmaker Marianna Economou; and actors Themis Bazaka, Giorgos Karamichos, Christos Stergioglou, and Penelope Tsilika.