Holocaust film Oscar-winner makes plea for peace in Gaza

BRITISH director Jonathan Glazer condemned the war between Israel and Hamas as he accepted the Oscar for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards.

His film Zone of Interest was based on a novel by the late Martin Amis about a Nazi officer’s family living next door to the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Second World War.

“All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present – not to say, ‘Look what they did then,’ rather, ‘Look what we do now’,” Glazer said, his hands shaking with emotion as he delivered his prepared remarks on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Glazer, who is Jewish, said: “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.

“Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present.”

He continued: “Whether the victims of October 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this dehumanisation, how do we resist?”

There was loud applause from the star-studded audience, some of whom, including Billie Eilish, Ava Duvernay, Ramy Youssef and Mark Ruffalo, sported “Artists4ceasefire” pins.

Youssef said the artists taking part in the movement wanted “an immediate and permanent ceasefire”.

“We’re calling for the safety of everyone involved. We really want lasting justice and peace for the Palestinian people,” the Poor Things star said during a red carpet interview. “We just want to say, ‘let’s just stop killing children.’”