As RogerEbert.com celebrates women this week, the new feature “The Zookeeper's Wife” sets another example of a female-driven Hollywood release in both its storyline and the talent behind and in front of the camera. The film is based on the true story of Antonina Zabinska, who in Nazi-held Poland at the start of World War II ran, with her husband Dr. Jan Zabinski, the Warsaw Zoo. When their beloved zoo and its inhabitants were devastated by the Nazi invasion, the Polish couple bravely defied the Reich by hiding countless numbers of Jews and rescuing them from their fate in the Warsaw Ghetto.
The story comes to the screen based on the bestselling book by Diane Ackerman with a screenplay by Angela Workman. It’s directed by celebrated New Zealand Director Niki Caro (“Whale Rider” and upcoming live-action “Mulan“) and starring Jessica Chastain.
In this special video interview, film journalist Katherine Tulich spoke to Chastain and Caro about “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” working with animals on set and the easy process of women working together to make a movie.
