Photography Begins for Film on Saving Jews in Warsaw's Zoo

Mateusz Szczepaniak, 16 November 2016
As reported recently in the media, photography has begun for a film about the hiding of Jews in the Warsaw Zoo. But the Hollywood producers will not be shooting the film in Warsaw. Warsaw's Praga, the scene for the events which took place years ago, will be played by the Czech capital, Prague. The film is due for release in 2016.

Hollywood prducers decided to make a film about the story of help extended to Jews from the Warsaw ghetto by the Director of Warsaw Zoo, Jan Żabiński, and his wife Antonina. The film will be entitled "The Zookeeper's Wife” and will be directed by Niki Caro, The screenplay was written by Angela Workman, based on Diane Ackerman's best-selling book Asylum - the Story of Jews Hidden in the Warsaw Zoo. The film will star Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Brühl and Michael McElhatton.

Unfortunately, the film will not be shot in Praga. the scene of the actual events years ago. The producers originally planned on using Budapest, but eventually decided upon the Czech capital, Prague. Apparently, conditions there were more favourable to making the film than in Warsaw, which they visited prior to making their decision.

"For organisational and financial reasons. Prague and Budapest both have film production facilities in place. We don't have those and a mass of formalities would have to be gone through, for example, the closing of roads. It's a pit, because it would have benefitted the city", said Janusz Owsiany in "Gazeta Stołeczna". Owsiany is a fan of Warsaw's Praga and a force behind the establishment of the Zoo Museum, dedicated to the saving of escapees from the ghetto.

In the past, the streets of Warsaw's Praga have been used for, among others, Roman Polański's "Pianist”. Unfortunately the film's producers did not recognise its potenial,and the authenticity of the place. Jan and Antonin Żabiński's villa in the Warsaw Zoo still stands to this day. In May 2015, the building was restored and opened to visitors.

POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, as part of its "The Polish Righteous - Recalling Forgotten History Memory" project, created a virtual exhibition "The House under a Wacky Star" telling the story of the Zoo during the time of the occupation, the story of the Żabiński couple and of the people whom they helped. The exhibition can be viewed HERE.