Originally posted Fri, 2009-06-19 23:14
Photo by Piotr Zabinski. Ryszard Zabinski, son of the heroic Warsaw zookeepers in his Warsaw apartment, is the subject of a new movie documentary, "Safe Haven, the Warsaw Zoo," by local producers Richard and Gary Lester and Charlie Carlson.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- "Safe Haven, the Warsaw Zoo" the latest Holocaust documentary from Blue Heron International Pictures, has become a blockbuster hit around the world since its release last March.
"More than seven million people from around the globe have watched it on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB.com), as well as on network television in Israel," said executive producer Richard Lester, a teacher at New Smyrna Beach High School.
"We have had e-mail pouring in from teachers and students ranging from Warsaw, Indiana to New Delhi, India."
Now comes word that has thrilled the local film-makers even more: "Our producer in Warsaw, Feliks Pastusiak, has arranged for a Polish language version to be screened daily at the Warsaw Zoo," explained Gary Lester, the film's award-winning director, and son of Richard Lester. "I can't think of a more appropriate place for people to see it, than the place where the events actually took place."
According to Feliks Pastusiak, well known Polish voice-over artist Jacek Brzostynski will record the Polish version of the narration.
"He is one of the best," Pastusiak said. "He is happy to be a part of this film and the tribute to its heroes."
"Safe Haven" tells the story of heroic zookeeper Jan Zabinski and his family, who successfully hid 300 Jewish men, women, and children from the Gestapo during Word War II.
When asked after the war why he took such risks to himself and his family, Zabinski replied, "It was the right thing to do."
Richard Lester's son, Gary, who directed the film, added: "I am very happy that Jan's children, Ryszard and Teresa, are still alive to learn of this huge honor. "Imagine them returning to their childhood home at the zoo and watching a film about their heroic parents, right where the entire story took place."
In addition to Ryszard Zabinski, the film also features Holocaust survivors Asia Doliner and Moshe Kenigswain Tirosh.
Local producer Charlie Carlson is equally proud of the film. "I have had the privilege of working with (director) Gary Lester on several projects, but his film, Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo, is truly a phenomenal piece of Holocaust history," said Carlson of New Smyrna Beach.
"Young people from around the world have expressed amazement at how a family would put their lives at risk to help others because it was the right thing to do," Carlson said. "I am delighted to learn that the film will now be shown in Polish at the Warsaw Zoo, the former home of a heroic zookeeper and his equally courageous family."
FAST FACTS:
"Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo" is under consideration for seven awards at the upcoming Crystal Reel Awards ceremonies, sponsored in September by the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association.
Produced by Feliks Pastusiak and Alex Ringer (Israel). Associate Producer (USA): Charlie Carlson of New Smyrna Beach. Educational Outreach (Israel): Marsha Goren. Directed by Gary Lester of Daytona Beach.