“THE FILM WOULD NOT
HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE MUSEUM'S COOPERATION.” POLISH PREMIERE
OF “THE ZONE OF INTEREST”
On 15 February, the Polish premiere of the film 'Zone of Interest,' directed and written by Jonathan Glazer, was held at the Auschwitz Museum. The film, depicting the family life of Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Höss, was awarded the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival last year. It also received five Oscar nominations.
Paweł Sawicki
The audience comprised, among others, representatives of local authorities and institutions, people involved in the film's production, museum staff and guides, and journalists. Director Jonathan Glazer, production designer Chris Oddy, and producers Jim Wilson, Ewa Puszczynska, and Bartosz Rainski were among the notable individuals featured in the post-screening discussion.
"The Zone of Interest" was created in close cooperation with the Museum on various levels. In addition to consulting on elements of the script or set design, the overall significance and symbolism of the picture were also discussed with the Museum. The Museum also supported the filmmakers through access to camp documents, Survivor accounts, and factual consultation. According to the film director, "the film would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Auschwitz Museum."
'This project is, in fact, a nine-year journey. It all began with an impulse. We were aware of our intention to broach this subject, but we lacked clarity on the precise approach we would employ. We visited the Museum, met with Director Cywinski and the historians working here, and began meticulous research,' said Jonathan Glazer.
'We searched the archives for any references to the camp commandant's family, upon which the film is based. The book by Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz on the private lives of SS men at Auschwitz was also an essential source for us. Through this, a gradual portrayal of how the perpetrators integrated themselves into this setting to execute their deeds unfolded. This became the central focus around which our film revolved,' stressed the director.
Glazer added: 'But rather we were trying to show it as something still in our world and still in ourselves as human beings and not an anomaly or some event that happened once and couldn’t possibly happen again. It felt very important to tell a story about our human capacity for violence.'
'Filmmakers come to us with their fully developed ideas and are astounded to learn about the script's numerous historical deficiencies, rendering cooperation impossible. Jonathan's approach was entirely different,' said Museum Director Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński.
He recalled the director's uncertainty about the nature of the film when he first visited the Museum. He invested a lot of time determining his message and the impact he wanted to make on the audience.
'Hundreds, if not thousands of questions were posed to our historians, encompassing topics such as the wall's thickness and height, the tree species found, the dimensions of the pool in the Höss family garden, and the plausibility of the radio model being manufactured at that time. I can honestly say that the precision exhibited sometimes teetered on the edge of madness. No one has ever asked us questions with such particularity before. The desire for precision was present at every stage, and it played a significant role in the setting,' he emphasised.
'The smallest details mattered, such as particular objects in the kitchen and the arrangement of items on the coffee table. These were almost like archaeological discoveries, providing a window into these people's lives. However, not only did we focus on what was inside their house and in the garden, but we also paid attention to what was happening behind the wall, despite it not being portrayed in the film,' said production designer Chris Oddy.
The director centred the film around the first commandant of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. The film depicts the daily life of Rudolf Höss and his family in a house with an idyllic garden located close to the camp but separated from it by this real yet symbolic wall.