Of Animals and Men | O zwierzetach i ludziach

  • Archive - Festival 35
  • Director: Łukasz Czajka
  • Poland 2019
  • 70 minutes
  • Polish
  • Subtitles in Hebrew, English

International Premiere

This extraordinary story of courage and compassion has recently been told in the feature film The Zookeeper's Wife starring Jessica Chastain. Now, we can learn more about its real-life protagonists - Antonina and Jan Żabińskis.

Before WWII, Dr. Jan Zabinski ran the Warsaw zoo which, during the war, gave shelter to many people, mostly Jews. Łukasz Czajka’s new documentary tells the story of Antonina and Jan Żabińskis, later recognized as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem, through previously undiscovered archival materials, staged fragments and testimonies of witnesses and survivors.

Feature Length Debut


  • Director Łukasz Czajka
  • Production Anna Wereda
  • Script Łukasz Czajka
  • Cinematography Kacper Czubak
  • Editing Jakub Piątek
  • Music Marcin Masecki
  • Festivals Krakow
  • Source Autograf Karol Wożbiński / Nowa Iwiczna