CHECKPOINT ZOO

Q+A with Director Joshua Zeman

Underwritten by Melinda Goldrich

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the worst war Europe has seen in over fifty years, shocking the world. Five weeks after the invasion first began, the Ecopark Feldman Zoo’s founder, Oleksandr Feldman, a Ukranian businessman and philanthropist, posted a desperate plea to social media — the relentless shelling had left thousands of animals trapped in their cages with little food or water, and only a few zookeepers were left to care for them. Within 24 hours, a group of selfless volunteers had appeared on Feldman’s doorstep, offering to help in any way they could.  Thanks to footage captured by the zookeepers, volunteers, and news media, filmmaker Joshua Zeman has reconstructed the events of this rescue, allowing us to examine the scope of the impact of war on some of its most innocent victims: the animals who are caught in the crossfire.