The Zone of Interest (12A)

In German, Polish, and Yiddish with English subtitles.

The Zone of Interest premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May 2023 to acclaim, winning both the Grand Prix and FIPRESCI Prize, and was named one of the top-five international films of 2023 by the National Board of Review. It won three BAFTAs (including Film not in the English Language) and was nominated for five Academy Awards and three Golden Globes Awards.

The Zone of Interest is a film about blind eyes and deaf ears, about horrors kept just out of sight and mostly out of mind. It follow’s a few weeks in the life of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig. They are striving to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.

The film’s boldest and most effective stylistic risk is that it never goes inside the gates of Auschwitz. We see only a familiar structure and its barbed wire fences looming just beyond the backyard wall, occasionally emitting plumes of smoke. Screams and bursts of gunfire echo faintly in the distance, almost but not quite out of earshot. We can barely hear dogs barking and commands being shrieked, all while the Höss family goes about their dull, daily routines.

Check out this behind the scene footage

‘Jonathan Glazer’s unforgettable Auschwitz drama is a brutal masterpiece’ – ★★★★★ The Guardian 

‘A hellish, daring spin on more traditional Holocaust movies’ – ★★★★★ Independent

‘A haunting look at our darkest chapter’ – ★★★★★ Rolling Stone UK

‘The Zone of Interest Is a Breath-Stopping, Hauntingly Original Holocaust Drama’ – Time

‘Five stars for Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust ‘masterpiece’ BBC Culture

Director – Jonathan Glazer

Cast – Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller

• Information about screenings with subtitles

  Subtitled screenings offer captions which transcribe dialogue only. Subtitled screenings attempt to give D/deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers an understanding of the spoken dialogue within the film, but do not include description about other aspects of the soundtrack, including music and sound effects.

• Seating accessibility information

  Cinema

  Seat size

  Seats in the Cinema are 45cm (172/3“) wide and 46cm (18“) deep, are 40cm (152/3“) from the floor, and have 12cm (42/3“) between seats.

  Armrests

  Seats in the Cinema have armrests that do not fold away, and cannot be completely removed.

  Legroom

  Seats in the cinema have 30cm (112/3”) of legroom in front of seats, with additional legroom on row A and seats B1-B4 and B11-B14.

  Further information

  If you have any questions about accessibility our Box Office team are always happy to help and can be contacted on 01642 525199 or by emailing [email protected] - you can also tell us about your access requirements when prompted to do so during the online booking process.

• BBFC rating information (may contain spoilers)

  Violence

  A soldier is heard being ordered to drown a man, and the cries and sounds of what people being struck or shot are audible in the background of scenes. People briefly talk about a woman with bruised arms who they think is being beaten by her husband.

  Threat and horror

  An alarmed father rushes his children away from a river and has them scrubbed down when he fears it may have become contaminated. A woman threatens her servant, saying she could have her ashes scattered over fields. A young woman hides from soldiers while secretly delivering food to workers.

  Language

  There is mild bad language (‘bloody’) along with milder terms such as ‘God’ and ‘hell’.

  Sex

  It is implied that a man has extramarital sex with a woman who visits his office. It is later implied that he is washing his penis after the encounter.

  Discrimination

  There are verbal references to the incarceration and extermination of Jewish people, who are discussed in a derogatory manner. A German woman uses the term ‘Jewess’.

  Injury detail

  There is brief sight of blood being cleaned from a shoe and a man discovers what appears to be a human bone in a river.

  Theme

  There are references to the Holocaust throughout. People discuss the installation and efficiencies of incineration machines at Auschwitz, without directly stating their purpose; German women talk about acquiring the clothing of camp victims and their children are seen playing with gold teeth. Screams, cries of distress and sounds of violence are heard coming from the concentration camp in the background of scenes focusing on the family and friends of the camp commandant going about their everyday lives. Smoke is seen billowing from the camp’s chimneys. There are also occasionally more specific verbal references to the hundreds of thousands of people being deported to camps, as well as images of the displays at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

  Alcohol and tobacco

  Adults are seen smoking and drinking.