THE ZONE OF INTEREST [SOLD OUT]

The chilling designation “the zone of interest” was used by the Nazi SS to describe the 40-square-kilometer area immediately surrounding the Auschwitz concentration camp in occupied Poland. The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Huller) live with their five children just over the fence of the notorious camp. The family blissfully spends time in their beautiful garden or by the river, unfazed as hundreds of thousands of people are being systematically murdered next door. Traces, both visual and aural of the atrocities taking place yards away, seep through, providing the family with stark reminders of their complicity and stunning indifference. When Höss learns he’s to be transferred to another camp, his wife is furious and unwilling to give up what she considers the idyllic life she’s always coveted. Brilliantly adapted from Martin Amis’ novel of the same name, British director Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin) received the Grand Prix award when the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The Zone of Interest is the UK’s submission to the Oscars for Best International Feature.  Screening will be followed by a conversation with Christian Friedel, recipient of MFF’s Breakthrough Actor Award. 

105 min.