‘Zone of Interest’ Follows History of Holocaust Films at the Oscars

variety.com:

Whitney Friedlander The Academy’s tendency to award trophies to Holocaust movies has long been whispered about — and even occasionally joked about by cheeky comedians.

In 2009, shortly after Kate Winslet won a Golden Globe for her performance as a former Auschwitz guard in “The Reader,” presenter Ricky Gervais pointed to her in the audience and deadpanned, “I told ya, do a Holocaust movie; the awards come.” Winslet, who would go on to receive an Academy Award for her part in Stephen Daldry’s film, had several years earlier appeared on Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s HBO comedy “Extras” as an actor who stars in a film about the Holocaust in the hopes that it will earn her an Oscar.

The night of the Globes, Winslet laughed at Gervais’ ribbing, as did many in the crowd. It was a much a jab at the industry as much as it was at her. “The spoof wasn’t entirely wrong,” says Annette Insdorf, a professor of film at Columbia University and the author of “Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust.” “The Academy Award track record vis-a-vis the Holocaust, including documentary features and shorts, reveals a high number of nominees and winners.” And, as Insdorf adds, they “do tend to be ‘prestige’ films that commemorate and/or investigate the past.” Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” has become the latest Holocaust movie nominated for Oscar gold.

It is up for five trophies, including best picture and international feature, the only movie to cross over into both categories this year, increasing the odds it will snag the international statuette.