Of Animals and Men – Virtual Screening Invitation

Join the Bender JCC and our Embassy for a screening of the 2019 documentary, and a post-screening discussion with the director of the film, Łukasz Czajka. This event is organized in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

January 26, 2021, Tuesday, 12pm (noon) CT, (1:00 p.m. EST)

Of Animals and Men tells the true story behind the 2017 feature film, The Zookeeper’s Wife. During WWII, the Warsaw Zoo carried out its function in a particularly rebellious manner with its abandoned enclosures providing shelter to persecuted men and women. Hundreds of Jews found such shelter in the zoo’s empty stables, kennels and aviaries, as well as in the house of the zoo’s director, Jan Żabiński, and his wife, Antonina.
Weaving together archival materials, recreations, and testimonies of witnesses and survivors, Of Animals and Men tells an extraordinary tale of courage and passion.

About the Director
ŁUKASZ CZAJKA was born in Warsaw. He is a graduate of the Wajda Film School. He also holds degrees in Political Science from the University of Warsaw and the Centre for Latin American Studies. For four years, he has been fascinated by the story of the Żabiński family and wartime events at the Warsaw Zoo. He’s engaged in the activities of the Monopol Warszawski Association of the Praga district, which undertakes artistic initiatives at the Hall of Memory of Jan and Antonina Żabiński.

Register here