Summary: Jessica Chastain (actor) and Niki Caro (director). Interviewed by Dan Gorski (Landmark Theatres). Film synopsis: The Zookeeper’s Wife tells the real-life story of one working wife and mother who became a hero to hundreds during World War II. In 1939 Poland, Antonina Żabińska (portrayed by two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty and The Help) and her husband, Dr. Jan Żabiński (Johan Heldenbergh of The Broken Circle Breakdown), have the Warsaw Zoo flourishing under his stewardship and her care. When their country is invaded by the Germans, Jan and Antonina are stunned—and forced to report to the Reich’s newly appointed chief zoologist, Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl of Captain America: Civil War). To fight back on their own terms, Antonina and Jan covertly begin working with the Resistance—and put into action plans to save lives out of what has become the Warsaw Ghetto, with Antonina putting herself and even her children at great risk. Written by Angela Workman (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan), based on the international bestselling book by Diane Ackerman. Directed by Niki Caro (Whale Rider, North Country).
