‘Checkpoint Zoo’ opens in US theaters: how to organize a community screening

The inspiring story of the heroic evacuation of more than 5,000 animals from Kharkiv’s Feldman Ecopark in northeastern Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine will hit U.S. theaters on Aug. 15. 

The documentary “Checkpoint Zoo,” directed by American filmmaker Joshua Zeman, features production support from renowned actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who has Ukrainian roots, and Jennifer Davisson.

DiCaprio’s grandmother, Helene Indebirken, was born in the Black Sear port city of Odesa when it was part of the Soviet Union. 

The Ukrainian World Congress is an official information partner of the project. 

While the film will begin with theatrical screenings, Ukrainian organizations across the U.S. are invited to apply to host community screenings.

Applications can be submitted via the official link, and the full schedule of cinema screenings across the U.S. is available online. Screenings will be accompanied by public discussions and Q&A sessions.

“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,” the film synopsis explains.

Since its release, Checkpoint Zoo has won several prestigious awards, including the Audience Choice Award at the Mill Valley Film Festival, the Zelda Penzel “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award at the Hampton International Film Festival, an honorable mention at Glimmerglass Film Days, and the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

The film has also been screened at the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Committee hearings, the Ukraine Action Summit, and other key events, receiving praise from leading media outlets.

“Beautiful and beyond moving,” CNN wrote.

“This film is not just about saving Feldman Ecopark’s animals under Russian shelling in spring 2022. It is one vivid episode in the larger struggle of the Ukrainian people for their freedom, lives, and values amid a terrible war. Importantly, the film draws global attention to our daily fight,” Feldman Ecopark said.