Fatherland

In Canada, 60 years after the end of WW II, and many miles away from his homeland, German-born filmmaker Manfred Becker thought he had escaped the burden of his country’s past. That was until his 12-year-old son Jonas came home from school one day and told his father that he had been called a Nazi. Realising the impossibility of denying history, Becker was prompted to travel with his son back to the country he had left behind and to try to discover the truth of his family legacy in a long-overdue discussion with his elderly father. Through the lens of his son’s camera, Wolfgang Becker, now 86, slowly reveals his memories and feelings about his role in Hitler’s army. In a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the war Wolfgang publicly addresses his church congregation in the presence of his son and grandson. This is a moment of catharsis for a family coming to terms with the shadow of the past. Fatherland is a highly subjective film, which reveals the impossibility of ignoring history and the complex relationship between three generations of fathers and sons. (DOK.fest München)