‘The Zone Of Interest’ director calls for end to Gaza attacks at Oscars

The director of The Zone Of Interest, Jonathan Glazer, made reference to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East during his Oscar acceptance speech.

The film, which focuses on the Nazi commandant Rufolf Höss and his family who live next to Auschwitz concentration camp, won two Academy Awards yesterday (March 10), for Best Sound and Best International Feature.

Filming took place in Auschwitz, known for being one of the most prolific and notorious concentration camps. Operated by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, approximately 1.3million inmates were imprisoned there, and 1.1million killed.

Taking to the stage to accept the award for Best International Film, Glazer spoke about the difficult themes in the film and their relevance today. “All our choices are made to reflect and confront us in the present,” said Glazer. “Not to say, ‘Look what they did then,’ rather ‘Look what we do now.’ Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst.”

Glazer then directly addressed the current conflict in the Middle East, following the October 7 attack by Hamas on the Supernova music festival. “Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack in Gaza,” he continued.

“All the victims of this dehumanisation, how do we resist?” he added.

He dedicated the award to the memory of Aleksandra Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk, a Polish resistance worker who Glazer reportedly met before she died in 2017, and who inspired a character in the movie.

Glazer concluded: “Aleksandra Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk, the girl who glows in the film as she did in life, chose to [resist]. I dedicate this to her memory and her resistance.”

Meanwhile, Cillian Murphy dedicated his Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Oppenheimer to “peacemakers everywhere”.