Blue Heron International Pictures LLC

Safe Haven Broadcast On Israeli Television

(Israel 10 Television poster by Alex Ringer)

"Wise people were those who called and coined this day, as the Remembrance Day for the Shoah and for Valor.You are justifiably commended as doing a great service to humanity.

Thank you warmly, for every minute of your thoughtful and important documentaries."

Dr. Chanan Rapaport

Blue Heron International Pictures announced that Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo was re-broadcast in the spring of 2011 for the third consecutive year on Israeli national television.

The internationally acclaimed documentary originally premiered in Israel on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, and has been broadcast on Holocaust Remembrance Day every year since.

Ryszard Zabinski at home in Warsaw. (Photo by Piotr Bujnowicz)

 

The morning broadcasts in 2010 opened with an interview with Marsha Goren, founder of Global Dreamers and Education Outreach Coordinator for the film.

"Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo tells a story that must be told and shows how good can prevail over evil, even in the darkest times of mankind," said Goren in her pre-taped interview.

Moshe Tirosh with his wife in Israel, recalling hischildhood days in hiding at the Warsaw Zoo. (Photo by Alex Ringer)

Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated in Israel and throughout the Jewish world each year on the 27th of Nissan, six days after Passover.

"It was important for me to have taken part in this film because my grandparents didn't make it through the Holocaust. They met their deaths in the Warsaw Ghetto and at Auschwitz concentration camp," said Israeli producer Alex Ringer.

"Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo is my personal dedication to their memory."

Poster created by students in Gdynia, Poland

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President of Israel Lauds

Blue Heron Documentary

Israeli President Shimon Peres with Marsha Goren

Blue Heron International Pictures announced recently that Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo has been recognized by the President of the State of Israel.

The film is an award-winning Holocaust documentary directed by Gary Lester and distributed internationally by Blue Heron.

"Our dear friend Miki Goldwasser arranged for President Shimon Peres to receive a copy of the film," said executive producer Richard Lester.

Goldwasser's son Udi is a national hero in Israel, one of three Israeli Defense Force soldiers captured by terrorists several years ago. Udi made the ultimate sacrifice for his nation and his people.

In his Safe Haven letter, President Peres sent his personal blessings to "all of the partners of this important creative work and its worldwide distribution."

Jan Zabinski, heroic Warsaw zookeeper

"This is another reminder that there was one righteous man in Sodom," wrote Peres, referring to Jan Zabinski, the heroic Warsaw zookeeper credited with saving 300 Jewish men, women, and children at the risk of his life and the lives of his family during the Holocaust.

"President Peres was obviously moved by the film," said Lester. "The story is both tragic and inspirational.

"We are absolutely thrilled that Safe Haven has attracted a lot of attention around the world," said director Gary Lester.

"When Jan Zabinski was asked why he risked his life and the welfare of his family to save the lives of strangers, he replied, 'We did it because it was the right thing to do.'

The message of the film is universal and timeless.

Safe Haven was recently accepted by the WorldKids International Film Festival for screening in Mumbai and New Delhi, India. The festival is a project of the WorldKids Foundation in Mumbai.

According to Manju Singh, Festival Director, "We firmly believe that with films such as yours, we help children become better equipped to face the world with better skills and knowledge."

Due to the efforts of Israeli producer Alex Ringer, Safe Haven has been broadcast three times on Israeli national television with both Hebrew and Russian subtitles.

It also screens at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, which recently started selling the DVD in the museum store.

Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo was produced by Feliks Pastusiak in Warsaw and Alex Ringer in Israel.

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Moshe Tirosh, who spent part of his childhood in hiding at the Warsaw Zoo, re-visits the Zabinski Family villa more than 60 years later. With him, during this very emotional experience, is Warsaw Zoo Deputy Director Ewa Zbonikowska, who assisted in making the film. (Photo courtesy of Feliks Pastusiak)