Sandra Hüller on working with Pawlikowski on "Ojczyzna", Poland's Oscar entry
Paweł Pawlikowski's "Ojczyzna" is Poland's entry for the Oscars. The film's star, Sandra Hüller, spoke to WP Film about trust on set and the work of cinematographer Łukasz Żal.
Author: Editorial teamPublished: 2 min read
Paweł Pawlikowski's "Ojczyzna" has been chosen as Poland's entry for the Oscars. The director already has an Academy Award to his name for "Ida", and the lead role in his new film is played by Sandra Hüller, known for "Anatomy of a Fall" and "Project Hail Mary", among others. According to WP Film, the actress is currently going through one of the best periods of her career.
Trust in the director
In an interview published on 19 October 2026, Hüller explained what working with Pawlikowski was like. In her view, there is something on set that makes you simply trust the other person. The actress admitted that she glanced at the monitor a few times and that this reassured her that what Pawlikowski was creating with cinematographer Łukasz Żal was, in her opinion, "perfect".
Hüller added that if she or her screen partner Hanns Zischler had had doubts about their own performances, the final result would not have been the same. You could ask the director whether you were heading in the right direction, but it was clear that the image took priority. The actors, as she put it, had to subordinate their "inner" work to it.
Plot
The film tells the story of the writer Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler), who returns in 1949 with his daughter to the homeland of the title. The journey through post-war Germany with his daughter Erika, played by Hüller, may be his last chance of salvation. In their review, the authors at WP Film compare him to Pawlikowski, who, after years of emigration, also returned to a country that had changed completely.
On the meaning of the title
Hüller pointed out that the word "homeland" has a double meaning in the film. It is not only the land where we were born, but also the land of the father. Asked about present-day Germany, she said that the country is now run by men, that a lot has changed and that the effects can be seen.
The source does not state when the nominations will be announced or when the film will be released in the UK.
Sources
This article was prepared with the help of AI from the listed sources and checked by our editors before publication.
Photos
- Cover: „filmproduction, filmcamera, camera, filmset, set”, author: dcondrey, licence Pixabay Content License; cropped or resized.
- Photo 1: „movie theater, cool backgrounds, curtain, mac wallpaper, 4k wallpaper”, author: onkelglocke, licence Pixabay Content License; cropped or resized.
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