As part of its International Art House Series, IU Cinema will screen the Oscar-nominated and Cannes Grand Prix-winning film “The Zone of Interest” at 7 p.m, March 6.
IU Cinema’s International Art House Series features new independent films and under-screened classics from around the world. The series has previously played films including “The Boy and the Heron” and “Oldboy.”
“The Zone of Interest” is directed by Jonathan Glazer, director of the A24 science fiction film “Under the Skin” and cult crime film “Sexy Beast.” It stars Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller, who is up for Best Actress in another of this year’s Best Picture nominees, “Anatomy of a Fall.”
The film takes place during the Holocaust and follows the chief commanding office of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig, as they construct an idyllic home and garden for their family on the border of the camp, keeping away the atrocities beyond their walls.
The film was named best movie of the year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and won three BAFTA awards. It is up for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound.
The film has been praised for its depiction of what Hannah Arendt calls “the banality of evil,” through Glazer’s choice to depict an atrocity through the lives of those who put up concrete walls to avoid the horrors next door to them.
Tickets for “The Zone of Interest” are $5 for students and $8 for general admission, available on its website.
