LONDON: The director of award-winning film “Zone of Interest,” Jonathan Glazer, has been backed by more than 150 Jewish Hollywood figures, including actor Joaquin Phoenix, over his acceptance speech at the Oscars earlier this year.
Glazer took the opportunity of his movie being named Best International Feature Film to raise the issue of Israel’s war in Gaza, saying he refuted his “Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.”
The director faced fierce criticism for his words, but in an open letter also signed by the likes of director Joel Cohen, the signatories noted their alarm “to see some of our colleagues in the industry mischaracterize and denounce his remarks.
“Their attacks on Glazer are a dangerous distraction from Israel’s escalating military campaign which has already killed over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza and brought hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation.”
The letter added: “We grieve for all those who have been killed in Palestine and Israel over too many decades, including the 1,200 Israelis killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the 253 hostages taken.”
It continued: “Glazer, Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg and countless other artists of all backgrounds have decried the killing of Palestinian civilians. We should all be able to do the same without being wrongly accused of fueling anti-semitism.”
The signatories also called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, adding: “We are proud Jews who denounce the weaponization of Jewish identity and the memory of the Holocaust to justify what many experts in international law, including leading Holocaust scholars, have identified as a ‘genocide in the making.’ We reject the false choice between Jewish safety and Palestinian freedom.”
Glazer has also been backed publicly by other figures from the movie industry and further afield.
British film director Ken Loach called Glazer “very brave,” telling Variety magazine: “I’m sure he understood the possible consequences, which makes him braver still, so I’ve got great respect for him and his work.”
Piotr Cywinski, director of the Auschwitz Memorial, said in a statement: “In his Oscar acceptance speech, Jonathan Glazer issued a universal moral warning against dehumanization. His aim was not to descend to the level of political discourse.
“Critics who expected a clear political stance or a film solely about genocide did not grasp the depth of his message.”
‘Zone of Interest’ director backed by Jewish Hollywood colleagues
https://arab.news/6bufp
‘Zone of Interest’ director backed by Jewish Hollywood colleagues
- Over 150 people, including Joaquin Phoenix, sign letter supporting Glazer after his Oscars speech drew ire for criticizing Israel
- ‘We reject the false choice between Jewish safety and Palestinian freedom’
Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show
- Rihanna and Brigitte Macron among attendees at show
- Design part of new director Jonathan Anderson’s vision
DUBAI/ PARIS: Model Mona Tougaard reportedly turned heads in a bridal-inspired look on the Christian Dior runway during the recent Paris Haute Couture Week.
The runway star, who has Danish, Turkish, Somali and Ethiopian ancestry, wore a sculptural white gown with a one-shoulder silhouette and layered petal-like appliques cascading from the bodice to the full skirt.
The asymmetrical bodice featured draped detailing across the torso, while the skirt flared into a voluminous, floor-length shape.
The look was finished with oversized floral statement earrings that echoed the dress’s petal motif.
The floral elements echoed the wider vision of Dior’s new creative director Jonathan Anderson, who drew inspiration from nature and his love of ceramics for his first Haute Couture collection since being appointed to the role.
The 41-year-old faces the rare challenge of overseeing all three fashion lines at the house — women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and Haute Couture — becoming the first designer to do so since Christian Dior himself.
Just days after presenting his latest men’s collection during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, the Northern Irish designer returned with his first couture offering.
The collection featured floral motifs on fabrics or as accessories, while sculptural bulbous dresses were inspired by the work of Kenya-born ceramicist Magdelene Odundo.
“When you copy nature, you always learn something,” Anderson declared in his show notes, which compared Haute Couture to a living ecosystem that is “evolving, adapting, enduring.”
Other noteworthy pieces included dresses with spherical birdcage-inspired silhouettes, while other models wore vest tops with their dresses gathered around their waists.
The front row at the Rodin Museum reflected the scale of anticipation surrounding Anderson’s couture debut. France’s first lady Brigitte Macron arrived early, while Lauren Sanchez Bezos swept in shortly after.
Actor Parker Posey twirled briefly in a trench-style dress, playing to the room before settling in.
Then the space fell into a collective pause as celebrities and editors alike waited for Rihanna. When the pop star finally took her seat, the lights dropped and the show began.
Before the show, Anderson admitted in an interview with the Business of Fashion website that he previously thought couture was “irrelevant,” adding that he never really “understood the glamour behind it.”
“Now, I feel like I’m doing a Ph.D. in couture,” he explained.
