![]() ![]() It’s very beautiful, what she did, and very true. So she brought her instinct to protect and nurture animals to human refugees and created a sanctuary for them. And the fact that Antonina was much better with animals than with people-you see her in the cocktail party at the beginning of the movie and she’s barely able to make a sentence, and yet in the next scene with the elephant, she’s absolutely fearless. When I first became aware of the script, I was really compelled by this seeming contradiction: What is a cage and what is a refuge? Or a sanctuary. The zoo, itself, was a personal sanctuary, an animal sanctuary, a human sanctuary.Can we talk about that?Ĭaro: Yes, absolutely. I think often femininity is equated with weakness, and Antonina shows us that you can be very soft and very strong at the same time. That means more than you know, because my whole intention with all of the filmmaking was to work in a very feminine way, but to make very strong material in a feminine way. SET DECOR: What a gorgeous film this is! And that does not detract from the strength of the story.ĭirector Niki Caro: Oh, thank you. We were delighted to talk with Director Niki Caro about the film and the filmmaking experience. We know how rare making this kind of film is.” You don't feel a hierarchy.It's a very collaborative experience, and it's been heaven for me.there are no strange power plays or egos. The energy is great, you all are working together as a community, and everyone is participating in the exchange of ideas. “When you have both genders represented, then you have a healthier point of view. To make this come about, she brought on Production Designer Suzie Davies, Set Decorator Charlotte Dirickx SDSA* and several other top department heads who also are female. Jessica Chastain, who plays Antonina, noted and appreciated the overall POV. One person can make a difference in the world.”ĭirector Niki Caro certainly agrees, as she dedicated herself to bring to life the story of the Warsaw zookeeper and his wife, the esteemed zoologist Jan Zabinski and animal whisperer Antonina Zabinska, and their humane rescue of over 300 Jews during World War II. “It is never too late for acts of compassion and it is never too late to act. Producer Diane Miller Levin, who a decade ago began the process of bringing the true story of THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE to film audiences, describes its message for today. Let’s hope that the latest movie will enocourage more people to visit Warsaw and discover the fate of Jan and Antonina Żabiński as well as other Poles who risked their lives to rescue Jews during the Second World War.Surprisingly beautiful sets help tell the story of the humane rescue of over 300 Jewish refugees from the Warsaw ghetto.Director Niki Caro tells of the filmmaking experience. They both survived the war and stayed in the zoo after it had finished.Ī few years ago, the original building of the Żabiński villa was opened for visitors of the Warsaw Zoo and is an important part of all tours following the steps of Warsaw Jews during the second World War. Jan Żabiński joined the Polish army and fought in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Antnonia not only took care of the people who were hiding in the zoo, but also she did her best to maintain the semblance of the pre-war life in the villa by still keeping animals there – the famous badger, otters, lynxes. Throughout the whole period of the war, over 300 Jews found shelter there. They were both active members of a very well-developed Polish resistance movement and they finally engaged into the action of rescuing Jews by hiding them in the zoo. However, Jan and Antonia continued to live in the villa, while the zoo was transformed into a pig and fur farm. Just like almost the entire city, the zoo was destroyed in the bombings and finally closed under German occupation. Their happy life ended in 1939 together with the sudden German invasion into Poland. Antonia was well-known for her great liking for animals, she even established an animal nursery in their villa in the zoo. The book and the movie tell the story of Jan and Antonia Żabińscy, who worked at the Warsaw Zoo from 1930. We all hope that it is going to change after the movie based on the best-selling novel of Diane Ackerman hits the cinemas in March 2017. Ironically, their story is better known in the U.S. One of the most touching and famous stories of Poles rescuing Jews is the story of the Director of Warsaw Zoo, Jan Żabiński, and his wife Antonia, the main characters of a very successful book, the “Zookeepers Wife”. Poles are the biggest nation group awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations by the state of Israel. During the horryfing times of the Second World War and the Holocaust, there were many brave Poles who helped Jews escape from their cruel fate. ![]()
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