{"id":3087,"date":"2025-08-12T09:23:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T08:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insuranceforgroup.com\/?p=3087"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:38:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:38:07","slug":"frontline-compassion-how-checkpoint-zoo-proved-that-people-not-cameras-are-what-matter-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insuranceforgroup.com\/en_gb\/frontline-compassion-how-checkpoint-zoo-proved-that-people-not-cameras-are-what-matter-most\/","title":{"rendered":"Frontline Compassion: How Checkpoint Zoo Proved That People, Not Cameras, Are What Matter Most"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Checkpoint Zoo. Film making under fire needs specialist insurance… <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the first chaotic months of the Russian\u2013Ukrainian war, Kharkiv\u2014Ukraine\u2019s second-largest city\u2014was transformed into a battlefield. Between the advancing Russian forces and the Ukrainian defenders lay Feldman Ecopark, a sprawling animal sanctuary. For years, the park had provided not only a home to exotic and rescued animals, but also therapy programmes for veterans living with PTSD, children with special needs, and vulnerable members of the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When shelling intensified, the keepers realised courage alone would not be enough to save the thousands of animals still inside. Together with four young volunteers, they embarked on an extraordinary 71-day rescue, moving over 5,000 animals<\/strong>\u2014including lions, tigers, and other predators\u2014through active conflict to safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producer-supported by luminaries\u2014including Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson\u2014the film won global acclaim, with critics calling it \u201cbeautiful and beyond moving.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Filmmaker Drawn to a Story of Humanity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Award-winning documentary director Joshua Zeman<\/strong>, known for Cropsey<\/em> and The Loneliest Whale<\/em>, was compelled by this account of compassion under fire. Using frontline and zookeeper-shot footage, he captured not just the peril, but the resolve and humanity at the heart of the mission\u2014illuminating the best of what people are capable of in the very worst of circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producers Zachary Mortensen<\/strong>, Ian Davies<\/strong>, and Torquil Jones<\/strong> brought their own decades of storytelling expertise, shaping the raw material into a gripping, deeply human narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is a film about the victims of war who are usually not seen.\u201d \u2014 Joshua Zeman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Film<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Festival Accolades: Recognition That Echoes Beyond Screens<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since its Tribeca Film Festival<\/strong> premiere in June 2024\u2014where it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature<\/em> and took 2nd place in the Audience Award<\/strong>\u2014Checkpoint Zoo<\/em> has continued to receive acclaim:<\/p>\n\n\n\n