Glazer wins Cannes prize with film based on Amis novel
‘The fearless perspective in his novel The Zone of Interest was the catalyst and inspiration for our film’
A BRITISH film adapted from a Martin Amis novel has been honoured in Cannes, just days after the death of the author, aged 73.
The Zone of Interest, following the lives of the Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, was adapted into a film by British director Jonathan Glazer.
The film was honoured by the jury, and awarded the Grand Prix, the second highest award at the Riviera event.
Collecting the prize, Glazer said: “I want to honour the memory of Martin Amis and thank him, for creating a perspective that was our catalyst.
“I’m so grateful. It’s his novel that was the foundation for our film. I’m so happy that I was able to direct it.” Amis died in Florida from oesophageal cancer on May 19. The Zone of Interest, published in 2014, was the 14th novel in a career which began with the publication of The Rachel Papers in 1973.
The German-language film adaptation of the book was written and directed by Glazer, with Film 4 offering backing, and premiered in Cannes’s opening week to critical acclaim.
Following the death of Amis, Glazer had passed on his condolences to the family, saying: “Martin Amis’s passing is a huge loss to the literary world and to his devoted readers.
“The fearless perspective in his novel The Zone of Interest was the catalyst and inspiration for our film. I hope in some way we have matched his courage.”
Glazer’s previous work had included critical successes Sexy Beast and Under the Skin.
Fellow British filmmaker Ken Loach, was also competing for the Palme d’Or, but the prize went to French director Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall.