The Zone Of Interest filmmaker Jonathan Glazer wasn’t on hand in Paris last night to accept his César award for Best Foreign Film but he did send a striking message which echoed the much-discussed speech he gave this time one year ago at the Oscars.
Despite the controversy that Oscar speech stoked — it was also praised by others — the acclaimed director was undeterred in repeating a similar tone last night.
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The Holocaust film’s French distributor David Grumbach of Bac Films read the acceptance message from Glazer in the director’s absence. It was read in French but has been translated by Deadline.
“Thank you to the Academy, Bac Films and the Cannes Film Festival,” he began. “Our film had its premiere in France and it’s an honor to be recognized here. Thanks to A24 Film4 and Access [Industries] and to our Polish producer, Ewa Puszczynska.
“The fact that so many people came to see our film is extraordinary. The fact that it is so topical is alarming. To echo what we said a year ago, we wanted the film to ask all of us, even today, questions about dehumanization. Today, the Holocaust and Jewish security are being used to justify massacres, and ethnic cleansing in Gaza…” The speech at that stage was interrupted by applause within the auditorium.
Grambach continued to read Glazer’s words: “…After the massacres of October 7 and the hostage-taking in Israel, both are acts of terror against innocent people, made possible by the dehumanization of the people on the other side of our walls. This is the Zone of Interest.”
Like Glazer’s speech from one year ago, last night’s was nuanced and open to interpretation. Inevitably, it has sparked both praise and criticism on social media. It was, however, one of the few acceptance speeches host broadcaster Canal + decided not to post to its X account.
Under The Skin and Sexy Beast director Glazer, who is himself Jewish, has always kept a relatively low profile and has rarely been seen at film events since winning the Oscar last year. It’s not clear why he wasn’t at the ceremony last night. The filmmaker rarely does press but his speech on Oscar night garnered plenty of column inches and drew opprobrium from more than 1,000 Jewish show business professionals who signed a letter denouncing it.
Inspired loosely by Martin Amis’ 2014 novel of the same name and set outside the walls of Auschwitz during the Holocaust, the German-language Zone of Interest stars Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller as Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden separated from the Nazi concentration and extermination camp by a only a short wall.
The post Jonathan Glazer’s César Acceptance Message Echoed His Much-Discussed Oscar Speech From One Year Ago appeared first on Deadline.
