Late Manchester University professor makes Oscars history with The Zone of Interest

The Zone of Interest, based on a novel penned by late Manchester University creative writing professor Martin Amis, made history last night as the first British film to land the Best International Film Oscar, previously known as Best Foreign Language Film. The film is in the German language.

The movie, a UK/Poland co-production directed by Jonathan Glazer which deals with the day-today life of Nazi Commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig as they go about building their dream home next to Auschwitz, also picked up Best Sound.

Picking up the award, director Glazer alluded heavily to the current situation in Gaza saying: “It’s not a film that looks at what they did then. Look at what we do now.”

Glazer is best known around these parts for directing the phenomenally underrated Under the Skin, though probably better known in less obscure parts for 2000’s gangster romp Sexy Beast, which successfully brought Ray Winstone, Ian McShane and Ben Kingsley together in no mean feat for a feature debut.

Amis, an author who probably needs little introduction having penned novels including his London Trilogy and being highlighted by The Times as one of the 50 greatest British novelists of the late 20^th Century, served as Creative Writing Professor at UoM from 2007-2011. He died from cancer in May last year aged 73.

Elsewhere at the Oscars, Britain didn’t do too badly with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer scooping seven awards including best picture, director, actor, supporting actor, original score, cinematography and film editing.