February of 2022, Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, launched an unprovoked assault on the Ukraine. The Feldman Ecopark facility in Kharkiv (located near the Russian border) became one of the many casualties of Putin’s despicable attacks. The fighting left the Ecopark’s 5000-plus animals with low rations of food and water, not to mention a good deal of the workers who had to flee. Director Joshua Zeman’s Checkpoint Zoo, tells the powerful story of the men and women who risked it all to mount a massive rescue effort to save the animals trapped inside the zoo.

Zeman’s is an inspiring work of hope and love in the face of tragedy and heartbreak. As air strikes hammered the area, the park’s founder (a sweet soul named Oleksandr Feldman) scrambled to seek safe shelter for his animals. Over the next year, a selfless team of zookeepers, veterinarians, and regular citizens, watch over the animals, doing their best to keep them safe. As the attacks become more frequent (and much too close) the effort to rescue and relocate begins.

In a desperate plea to the world, Feldman released a video to his and his staff’s social media pages begging for help. Almost immediately, that help came from all over the world;  an outpouring of kindness and support that reaffirms the good in humanity.

While Zeman doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war, Checkpoint Zoo avoids dwelling on anything overly gruesome. For this film, the devastation of Putin’s attacks is addressed, but it is the heroism of this courageous band of men and women (and the purity of the animal kingdom) that is front and center.

This is a picture that hits the audience on many levels. Zeman’s work is certainly filled with emotion, but there are many moments that will have viewers on the edge of their seat. At times, the scenes of rescues (while missile strike boom around the saviors) play like a thriller. If only this were a work of fiction.

While the valorous deeds of all involved truly inspire, there were people who lost their lives during filming. A zoo worker dies at the hands of a lion (whose stress due of the bombings is forgiven). In the most tragic occurrence, a 15 year old boy named Denis comes to help with the rescue and chooses the very day that missiles hit the park entire. The scene of his parents confronting a Russian soldier after their son’s death is one of the most heartbreaking moments you will ever witness.

Denis, along with Oleksandr Drach, Serhii Ivanov, Oleksandr Kovalevsky, Vadim Ponomarov, and Andrii Zemlyanoy are remembered through Zeman’s work.

In the face of seemingly impossible odds and under the constant threat of being killed, these people refuse to be deterred. As one rescuer proudly declares, “No animal will be abandoned.” While certainly scared, every man and woman involved takes pride in the rescue efforts. In a way, their actions are a form of resistance against the villain who would dare destroy their beauty. This is the heart and soul of Zeman’s film.

Zoo worker Andrii Tyvaniuk (who says his love for the animals is, “… a passion”) is a testament to the healing and nurturing affect the Ecopark has on those who come to work there and the people who come to visit. A former drug addict (only three years sober at the time of filming) who tried once to kill himself, Tyvaniuk is born anew through his relationship with the animals. His story echoes the many people whose lives have been touched by the Ecopark.

Checkpoint Zoo is a tremendous documentary and one of the best and most important films of this year’s Tribeca festival and of 2024 thus far.

At a time where (for some reason) a good part of American politicians choose to side with Putin and block military funding to help the victims in the Ukraine, Joshua Zeman has given us a film of hope. These brave men and women are nothing short of heroes and exist as the very definition of compassion and love.

Checkpoint Zoo

Directed by Joshua Zeman

NR, 103 Minutes, Ghost Robot, Noah Media Group