“His family, I think, still breeds Heck cattle, and everything we see in the movie about him is true. “He was Hitler’s chief zoologist,” Workman said. Guided by greed and lust, Heck, played by Daniel Bruhl, offers assistance to Antonina by offering to take the remaining animals to Germany for safekeeping. The story pivots on Nazi official Lutz Heck, who’s eyeing the remaining rare zoo animals and Antonina. “But a character like Antonina shows us that you can be both very soft and very strong.” “Femininity has often been equated with weakness,” she said. It’s something that I think people do every single day on our war-torn planet, but we don’t hear about it.”įilmmaker Niki Caro echoes Ackerman’s viewpoint.Īuthor Diane Ackerman and director Niki Caro at the Los Angeles Premiere of Focus Features' "The Zookeeper's Wife" at ArcLight Hollywood, March 27, 2017, in Los Angeles. Her form of heroism was compassionate heroism. She risked her life every single day, but she didn’t hold a gun and shoot at anybody. “Her husband was heroic in more traditional ways. “She endangered her own life, the life of her child, but she felt it was the right thing to do.” Ackerman said. The largely female cast reflects the feminine point of view, said novelist Ackerman, who made Antonina Zabinski her central character.
We’ve had some really fierce women working on this.
Jessica (Chastain) stuck around when we didn’t know whether we’d be able to get it made. Niki has been involved with it for years. I was involved with it for eight or nine years. “Kim Zubek, our lead producer, was a person who carried this on her shoulders for years to get this made,” Workman said. Screenwriter Angela Workman seen at Los Angeles Premiere of Focus Features' "The Zookeeper's Wife" at ArcLight Hollywood, March 27, 2017, in Los Angeles.