Joshua Zeman–award-winning filmmaker whose new documentary, “Checkpoint Zoo,” arrives in timely fashion, providing a distinctive window into the Russian-Ukraine war, chronicling efforts to care for, then evacuate, some 5000 animals at a Ukrainian zoo called Feldman Ecopark, while bombing was underway—recounts the path from his previous doc, “The Loneliest Whale” to his new film. 
Zeman observes that one through line of his work is exploring “the mysteries of animals,” and quickly assents
when I suggest he’d been interested in making a war film, but was unsure what form that should take. Then he spotted the front-page New York Times story about Chichi. Chichi is a chimpanzee in Ukraine who busted out of the Kharkiv Zoo for a few hours before a zookeeper persuaded Chichi to return to the zoo–aboard the zookeeper’s bicycle. Reading The Times account, Zeman recalls, he was struck by how much Chichi’s on-the-lam antics delighted everyone who witnessed them—no small feat in a war-torn country—while the article noted the chimp and other animals had been evacuated months earlier from Feldman Ecopark…and, crucially, the piece also mentioned multiple videos of Chichi eluding capture, that they “were shared widely on social media.’” So, these elements in Ukraine coalesced in a way that not only gave Zeman his sought-after war film, but served as a catalyst for rapidly launching what would become “Checkpoint Zoo”: In our “Talking Animals” conversation, he describes cold-calling Feldman Ecopark, requesting—and receiving—a treasure trove of video clips featuring the zoo’s animals in various scenarios, 
many at a TikTok-friendly 30-second length. He says he ended up acquiring some 3000 clips. He outlines
the unusual challenges of sifting through and assembling an enormous number of pieces into what would become “a Joshua Zeman Film.” Zeman also addresses how the spirited squad of volunteers—that help feed and care for the Feldman Ecopark animals, later assist in evacuating them—form a pivotal facet of the film. Toward the end of our conversation, Zeman weighs in on how working on “Checkpoint Zoo” affected his thinking about war, and his thinking about zoos and other settings where animals are held in captivity. “Checkpoint Zoo” is now playing in select theaters; information on those theaters and more: https://checkpointzoo.com/
Photo of Zeman: Jennifer Manville Other photos: Nesterov, Hume
I paid tribute to Rob Lorei, WMNF’s co-founder and the station’s longtime News & Public Affairs Director, who passed away on Aug. 17–and put “Talking Animals” on the WMNF broadcast schedule for the first time, starting in 2005.
ALSO: I spoke with Adam Sugalski, a veteran animal activist who leads the efforts of Bear Defenders, a coalition dedicated to ending bear hunting across the United States–their singular focus in recent months was opposing the bear hunt that the FWC voted to approve last Wednesday, Aug. 13, in a meeting in Havana, Florida. Sugalski was at that meeting, so he briefly described the scene there, noting the dark cloud hanging above the session, and puzzling pre-meeting circumstance of some FWC Commissioners being curiously MIA (on vacation, attending a wedding, etc.). That sense of foreboding continued, as the Commissioners on hand voted unanimously in favor of proceeding with a regulated bear hunt, beginning with a 23-day hunting season in December—willfully ignoring, Sugalski and I observe, the will of nearly 80 percent of Floridians, who’d expressed opposition to the hunt. We also discuss next steps for those unwilling to accept that outcome, and the importance of exhausted, disappointed activists practicing self-care. (https://www.beardefenders.org/)
COMEDY CORNER: Jeremy Hotz’s “Bronx Zoo” (DS edit) (https://jeremyhotz.com/)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
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