British filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, accepting the best international feature Oscar for The Zone of Interest, denounced the bloodshed in the Middle East and asked the audience to consider how it could “resist” the “dehumanization” of the war in Gaza.
Glazer received the Oscar for a drama about Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss and his family as they attempt to build an idyllic life right outside the walls of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland during the Holocaust.
“All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present — not to say, ‘Look what we did then,’ rather, ‘Look what we do now.’ Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst,” Glazer said, reading from prepared remarks. “It shaped all of our past and present.”
Glazer, who is Jewish, then said: “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 people.”
Many in the audience could be seen cheering and applauding. Sandra Hüller, the German actor who portrayed Höss’ wife Hedwig, was crying and put her hand to her chest.
Glazer continued: “Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack in Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”
He dedicated his Oscar to Aleksandra Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk, Polish member of the World War II resistance. In the film, a young girl inspired by Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk secretly transports apples to starving Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz.
Glazer’s comments represented the most direct commentary on the war in the Middle East during the awards ceremony. Predictably, they immediately stirred debate online, where some social media users objected to his message, misquoted him or accused him of having refuted his Jewish identity.
It should be noted that, by and large, presenters and winners at this year’s award shows have not explicitly referred to the conflict.
However, that said, Billie Eilish and Ramy Youssef wore red pins on the Oscars red carpet symbolizing calls for a cease-fire.
James Wilson, a producer of “The Zone of Interest,” addressed the violence during an acceptance speech at the 77th BAFTAs in London: “It seems stark right now that we should care about innocent people being killed in Gaza or Yemen in the same way we think about innocent people being killed in Mariupol or in Israel.”
Loosely based on a novel by Martin Amis, The Zone of Interest received international acclaim when it was released in theaters last year, after world premiering at the 2023 Cannes Film Fest, in May.
It was up for five Oscars, including best picture and best director, and it won two: best international feature and best sound.
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