Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer provokes fury with Oscars speech
Director sparks controversy at Oscars over comments on Holocaust and Israeli occupation.
- Bilawal Riaz
- 1 min read
The director of the Shoah film “Zone of Interest,” Jonathan Glazer, won the best international film award at the Oscars but sparked controversy by objecting to the “Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation” in his acceptance speech. Glazer highlighted the dehumanization suffered by victims in both Israel and Gaza, drawing criticism from human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky and others for creating a moral equivalency between Hamas actions and Israel’s military campaign. Glazer emphasized that his film reflects on present-day dehumanization and the impact of the Holocaust. In contrast, the film “Oppenheimer” was a major winner at the Oscars, receiving seven awards, including best picture, best actor, and best director for its portrayal of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Irish actor Cillian Murphy won best actor for his performance and dedicated his award “to the peacemakers everywhere.”