Ross Benjamin on 'The Director' (Nominated for the International Booker Prize-2026)

Ross Benjamin on 'The Director' (Nominated for the International Booker Prize-2026)

From Harshaneeyam by Harshaneeyam

April 3, 2026 · 23 min · Season 5 · Episode 12

About this episode

The episode explores the moral complexities of art during the Nazi regime through the lens of Daniel Kehlmann's novel 'The Director', featuring translator Ross Benjamin.

"Welcome to Harshaneeyam! "Can a work of art ever truly be washed clean of the hands that funded it? Is it possible to create a masterpiece in the shadow of a monster? Today, we are exploring these haunting questions through the lens of The Director —the latest novel by the brilliant German author Daniel Kehlmann. Set against the harrowing backdrop of the late 1930s and 1940s, the story follows the legendary film director G.W. Pabst as he returns to Nazi-occupied Austria. Pabst finds himself ensnared by the propaganda machine of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda, who wielded absolute control over the German press and arts to serve the regime’s twisted ideology. Pabst believes his creative genius can transcend such a system, but at what cost? Upon its original release in Germany under the title Lichtspiel , the novel became an immediate sensation, sparking intense literary debates about the moral compromises of artists during the Third Reich. This buzz has only grown as the book enters the global stage, with the English edition published in the year 2025. Now, having been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026 , the novel stands as one…

People in this episode

Host: Harshaneeyam

Guest: Ross Benjamin

Topics covered

  • art and morality
  • Nazi propaganda
  • literary translation
  • historical fiction
  • moral compromises of artists

Keywords

  • The Director
  • Daniel Kehlmann
  • Ross Benjamin
  • Nazi Germany
  • literary translation
  • art and morality
  • International Booker Prize

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: International Booker Prize

Books & works: The Director, Lichtspiel

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