New Film Recreates WWII-Era Zoo in Holešovice

Production on The Zookeeper’s Wife will take place in Prague through November

Jason Pirodsky

Written by Jason Pirodsky Published on 14.09.2015 14:26:36 (updated on 14.09.2015) Reading time: 1 minute

If you can get a peek inside the Holešovice Expo Grounds (Výstaviště Praha Holešovice) over the next few weeks, you might catch some unusual sights (or hear some unusual sounds).

That’s because filming for the upcoming movie The Zookeeper’s Wife is currently taking place in Prague, and the production has recreated the entire central location – a WWII-era Warsaw zoo – inside of the Prague 7 locale.

That includes several hundred animals, according to an article on Metro.cz, which have been provided by Ludvík Berousek, a local trainer who specializes in providing animals for use in locally-shot film and commercials.

The Zookeeper’s Wife, based on the non-fiction book by Diane Ackerman, stars Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) in the central role of Antonia Žabinská, who with her husband Jan (Played by Daniel Brühl) sheltered hundreds of Jews – and surviving animals – in the Warsaw Zoo during Nazi occupation.

Chastain has been active on social media while filming in Prague, providing some behind-the-scenes pics of her co-stars (animal and otherwise):

Loving my new costars #johanheldenbergh #danielbrühl #lilytheelephant #ZookeepersWife Posted by Jessica Chastain on Friday, September 4, 2015

While also taking in some Aida at the State Opera in her free time:

A little night music #Aida #prague #opera #verdi Posted by Jessica Chastain on Sunday, September 6, 2015

Filming throughout Prague will occur over the next three months, which the star seems to be happy about: 

Yeah I’m totally cool with spending the next 3 months here # Prague #ZookeepersWife Posted by Jessica Chastain on Tuesday, September 1, 2015

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