OSCARS 2024

The Zone of Interest: Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture 2024

The Oscar for Best International Feature Film, previously known as Best Foreign Language Picture, went to British film, the Zone of Interest.

When the curtain rises at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the world of cinema holds its breath. It happens once a year. As if it were Mount Olympus with its gods, the great figures of the seventh art dance through Hollywood towards the most acclaimed awards in the industry. The Oscars. Although it has been the Academy’s faithful intention for decades, it hasn’t always portrayed the reality of cinema beyond North American borders; a trend that is rapidly changing and finds its seed in the now-defunct category of Best Foreign Language Film. The celebration of worldwide cinema is now known as Best International Feature Film.

THE ZONE OF INTEREST WINS

While it is true that anything can happen in cinema, this year ‘The Zone of Interest’ appeared a front runner in this category and managed to reduce the chances of a surprise here to nothing - despite the commendable work of J.A. Bayona with ‘The Society of the Snow’. Jonathan Glazer’s film made a powerful statement, winning the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

In reality, the formidable production that the United Kingdom packaged and sent to Los Angeles was always likely to be more than a worthy representative. It was competing for not one, but five statuettes including Best Adapted Screenplay, won by American Fiction, to the big ones: Best Picture and Best Director.

It’s a film with that lingers in the mind. You watch once and digest later. Glazer manages to merge in a single film an amalgam of beautiful and terrifying sensations that are only understood when you let the filmmaker himself introduce you to the story: Rudolf Höss, commander of the Auschwitz concentration camp and one of the top figures in the Nazi movement, lives in an idyllic house with his wife and five children; a pleasant residence that has a fatal flaw due to a horrific detail: it is next to the extermination camp, and through its windows, a horror that is impossible to ignore seeps in.

Technical details

  • Original Title: Zone of Interest
  • Year: 2023
  • Duration: 106 minutes
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Director: Jonathan Glazer
  • Screenplay: Jonathan Glazer (based on the novel by Martin Amis)
  • Music: Mica Levi
  • Cinematography: Lukasz Zal
  • Cast: Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Ralph Herforth, Max Beck, Marie Rosa Tietjen, Sascha Maaz, Stephanie Petrowitz, Lilli Frank, Freya Kreutzkam, Ralf Zillmann, Imogen Kogge, Nele Ahrensmeier, Johann Karthauss
  • Production Companies: A24
  • Distributor: BAC Films,
  • Genre: Drama, Psychological Thriller, Holocaust, War

Winners of the Oscar for Best International Feature Film in the 21st Century

PictureCountryYear
Zone of InterestUnited Kingdom2024
All Quiet on the Western FrontGermany2023
Drive My CarJapan2022
Another RoundDenmark2021
ParasiteSouth Koera2020
RomaMexico2019
A Fantastic WomanChile2018
The SalesmanIran2017
Son of SaulHungary2016
IdaPoland2015
The Great BeautyItaly2014
AmourAustria2013
A SeparationIran2012
In a Better WorldDenmark2011
The Secret in Their EyesArgentina2010
DeparturesJapan2009
The CounterfeitersAustria2008
The Lives of OthersGermany2007
TsotsiSouth Africa2006
The Sea InsideSpain2005
The Barbarian InvasionsCanada2004
Nowhere in AfricaGermany2003
No Man’s LandBosnia2002
Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonTaiwan2001
All About My MotherSpain2000

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