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As author Martin Amis died, a movie of his Holocaust novel ‘Zone of Interest’ wowed at Cannes
(JTA) – The death of Martin Amis, the prolific British author, came just as a film adaptation of one of his Holocaust novels premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival.
Amis, who died on Friday of esophageal cancer at the age of 73, was not primarily known for his Holocaust fiction. But that aspect of his career may soon loom large, as “The Zone of Interest,” an adaptation of his penultimate novel, has become an early favorite to win this year’s Palme d’Or, the top prize at Cannes.
If the film comes away from the festival with an award, it could serve as an honor of sorts at the end of a largely celebrated but at times controversial career. In addition to his writing, Amis was known for his tabloid-fodder romances and derogatory comments about Muslims. The son of British literary titan Kingsley Amis, his most well-regarded work included the so-called London Trilogy of novels, published in the 1980s and 1990s, and a 2000 memoir.
Published in 2014, “The Zone of Interest” was Amis’ second-to-last novel and concerned itself, as many of his works did, with the mechanisms of genocide and the dark theme of societal collapse. The book centers around a figure loosely inspired by Auschwitz death camp commandant Rudolph Hoess. It dissects the mentality of Nazi officers and their families as they attempt to construct compartmentalized personal lives while committing atrocities against Jews. Amis’ novel also includes the perspective of a Jewish sonderkommando — a concentration camp prisoner who disposed of the dead bodies of fellow Jews after they had been gassed.
In the movie version, directed by the acclaimed British Jewish filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, the protagonist is explicitly Hoess himself. Glazer told reporters that he hoped the film adaptation would “talk to the capacity within each of us for violence, wherever you’re from.” It was important, he said, to depict Nazis not as “monsters,” but rather to show that “the great crime and tragedy is that human beings did this to other human beings.” The movie was filmed in Auschwitz and is scheduled to be released later this year.
“The Zone of Interest” was Amis’ second novel about the Holocaust. In 1991, he published “Time’s Arrow: or The Nature of the Offense,” an experimental narrative about a Nazi doctor in Auschwitz. Told in reverse chronology, the novel begins with the doctor’s “retirement” in America, before rewinding to show him brutalizing people in the camps. Critics celebrated the book for its depiction of the absurdity underpinning the Holocaust.
Amis was known more broadly for his mixture of satirical novels and fierce polemics, and he took on everything from the Stalinist regime to modern-day feminism to Islam in the post-9/11 world. That last topic earned him particular condemnation in 2006 when he asserted, among other things, “The Muslim community will have to suffer until it gets its house in order.” He apologized for that comment and denied being an Islamophobe, though soon afterward, according to The New York Times, he identified as an “anti-Islamist” and told the British newspaper The Independent: “Anti-Islamism is not like antisemitism. There is a reason for it.”
If “The Zone of Interest” wins the top prize at Cannes, it will come amid a wave of other premieres at the festival this year that also grapple with historical antisemitism. “Occupied City,” a new four-hour documentary from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen, juxtaposes modern-day Amsterdam with descriptions of its citizens’ lives under Nazi occupation. “The Goldman Case,” a courtroom drama, is based on the real-life 1975 trial of left-wing French Jewish radical Pierre Goldman, who claimed he was a victim of antisemitic targeting by police and who was later murdered. “Kidnapped,” which will premiere Tuesday, is an Italian historical drama about the Catholic Church’s 19th-century kidnapping of Jewish child Edgardo Mortara.
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Some Tankers Cross Strait of Hormuz Before Shots Fired, Ship-Tracking Data Shows
A satellite image shows the ship movement at the Strait of Hormuz on April 17, 2026, in Space. EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2/Handout via REUTERS
More than a dozen tankers, including three sanctioned vessels, passed through the Strait of Hormuz after a 50-day blockade was lifted on Friday, shipping data showed, before Iran reimposed restrictions on Saturday and fired at some vessels.
Reopening the strait is key for Gulf producers to resume full oil and gas supplies to the world, and end what the International Energy Agency has called the worst-ever supply disruption.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday Iran had agreed to open the strait, while Iranian officials said they wanted the US to fully lift its blockade of Iranian tankers.
Western shipping companies cautiously welcomed the announcements but said more clarity was needed, including on the presence of sea mines, before their vessels could transit.
IRAN RESUMES RESTRICTIONS
The ships that passed through the strait on Friday and Saturday via Iranian waters south of Larak island were mainly older, non-Western-owned vessels and included four sanctioned ships, according to ship-tracking data.
Iran arranged passage for a limited number of oil tankers and commercial ships following prior agreements in negotiations, a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.
Other ships have been seen approaching the strait and turning back as Iran said it would maintain strict controls as long as the US continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
The UK Navy reported on Saturday that Iranian gunboats fired at some ships attempting to cross the strait.
Some merchant vessels received radio messages from Iran’s navy saying the strait was shut again and that no ships were allowed to pass, shipping sources said on Saturday.
Ship-tracking data showed five vessels loaded with liquefied natural gas from Ras Laffan in Qatar approaching the strait on Saturday morning.
No LNG cargoes have transited the waterway since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.
Hundreds of ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the conflict started and Tehran closed the strait, forcing Gulf oil and gas producers to sharply cut production.
Top producers such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait say they need steady tanker flows and unrestricted passage through the strait to resume normal export operations.
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Trump Greenlights Russian Oil to Ease Strain on Global Markets After War with Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, DC, US, March 27, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
i24 News – The Trump administration has authorized a 30-day emergency waiver allowing the maritime purchase of Russian oil, reversing a hardline stance in an effort to stabilize skyrocketing global energy prices.
The Treasury Department announced Friday that the license for crude and petroleum products will remain in effect until May 16, 2026, responding to intense pressure from international partners struggling with the fallout of the war with Iran.
This policy pivot comes as a surprise after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested earlier this week that no further exemptions would be granted:
“As negotiations with Iran accelerate, the administration seeks to ensure oil availability for those who need it most. We must prevent a total price collapse for consumers while the geopolitical situation remains volatile.”
Ensuring global oil availability is paramount for the US as over 80 energy facilities in the Middle East have been damaged by recent war with Iran. With the November midterm elections approaching, record-high fuel prices at the pump remain a primary vulnerability for the Republican party. By allowing Russian oil back into the maritime flow, the administration hopes to neutralize “pain at the pump” before voters head to the polls.
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UK: Islamist Group Claims to Attack Israeli Embassy with ‘Drones Carrying Radioactive, Carcinogenic Materials’
A UK man has been arrested for allegedly threatening a group of Jews while wielding an ax on Rosh Hashanah. Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – British police officers in protective clothing were seen investigating a “security incident” near the Israeli embassy in London on Friday, after a jihadist group put out a video showing it launching two drones allegedly carrying radioactive and carcinogenic materials toward the embassy.
“There is an increased police presence in Kensington Gardens and officers are assessing a number of discarded items. As a precaution, some of the officers who have been deployed are wearing protective clothing. We recognize this may concern local residents and the wider public,” police said in a statement.
“Counter Terrorism Policing London are aware of a video shared online overnight in which a group claims to have targeted the nearby embassy of Israel with drones carrying dangerous substances,” the statement further read. “While we can confirm that the embassy has not been attacked, we are carrying out urgent inquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link between it and the items discarded in Kensington Gardens.”
The incident comes amid a steep hike in antisemitic attacks in Britain targeting Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions.
The group that released the video was identified as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, a shadowy entity with suspected ties to Iran. It has already claimed seven attacks against Jewish institutions, including an arson attack in London where four ambulances owned by the Hatzolah charity were torched.