It stars Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Brühl and Michael McElhatton. The film tells the true story of how Jan and Antonina Żabiński rescued hundreds of Polish Jews from the Germans by hiding them in their Warsaw zoo during World War II. It is based on Diane Ackerman's non-fiction book of the same name. The Zookeeper's Wife is a 2017 American war drama film directed by Niki Caro and written by Angela Workman.