Director Jonathan Glazer wins the Oscar for Best International Feature Film for The Zone of Interest
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Jonathan Glazer’s seering Holocaust film, The Zone of Interest won two Academy Awards at the Oscars 2024. His striking acceptance speech doesn’t seem to be sitting too well with the film’s producers.
The film follows the story of Rudolf Hoess, the longest-serving commandant at Auschwitz, and his family while they happily lived next door to the death camp.
In his speech, Glazer initially appeared to renounce the Jewish identity associated with Zionism, before drawing comparisons between his Holocaust-themed film and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. His comments, as transcribed by the Academy, emphasized the film’s portrayal of dehumanization and its relevance to contemporary issues, stating, “Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst… Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”
According to reports from Variety, Glazer’s words incited significant backlash, particularly within the Jewish community, with Holocaust survivors among those voicing outrage at his remarks. Executive producer Danny Cohen, while acknowledging the film’s importance in Holocaust education, publicly disagreed with Glazer, expressing disappointment and concern over the offense caused by the speech.
Speaking on the Unholy podcast, Cohen underscored the distress caused by Glazer’s remarks, stating, “I just fundamentally disagree with Jonathan on this. The war and the continuation of the war is the responsibility of Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization which continues to hold and abuse the hostages, which doesn’t use its tunnels to protect the innocent civilians of Gaza but uses it to hide themselves and allow Palestinians to die. I think the war is tragic and awful and the loss of civilian life is awful, but I blame Hamas for that.”
However, perhaps the most curious part of Glazer’s appearance at the Oscars was the presence of Leonard Blavatnik – a notable figure with ties to sanctioned Russian oligarchs and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself.
“Big picture is we are honored and thrilled to win Academy Awards” Cohen concluded. “The film as I say is remarkable and I think that’s what’s going to be remembered in the longterm, not that speech. And we’re extremely proud of the film. There’s been a bump in the road here but I don’t think it takes away from us that it’s a remarkable film and the impact it can have on Holocaust education which was certainly the purpose for Len Blavatnik and I.”
