Checkpoint Zoo documents a daring rescue led by a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers who risked their lives to save thousands of animals trapped in a zoo behind enemy lines during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

A Q&A with the director Josh Zeman follows the film.

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the worst war Europe has seen in over 50 years. In the early days of the invasion, some of the fiercest fighting was on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. On one side was the advancing Russian Army, on the other side the defending Ukrainian Army. And in between them was a zoo… called Feldman Ecopark. More than just a sanctuary for animals, Feldman Ecopark offered countless community programs from animal therapy to charity events for children with special needs. It was a cultural center for Kharkiv’s 1.4 million citizens, unfortunately positioned less than 30 kilometers from the Russian border. 

When the invasion started, Kharkiv turned into a battleground, and the staff was forced to flee Ecopark, leaving 5,000 animals trapped in-between the Russian and Ukrainian frontlines. Both sides were firing on each other, and everything that fell short landed in Feldman Ecopark. But that wasn’t enough to stop several brave zookeepers from venturing back into the park time and time again to continue caring for the surviving animals. 

Working from footage captured by the zookeepers, volunteers, news media, and himself on his own trip to Ukraine, filmmaker Joshua Zeman tells the moving, suspenseful, and powerful story of these real-life heroes. The film details the initial attack, the efforts to continue tending to the trapped animals, the hair-raising evacuation, and tragically, the price these volunteers paid to do the right thing.

Presented in English, Ukrainian and Russian with English subtitles.