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In the early days of the Ukraine-Russia war, the Feldman Ecopark, a beloved animal refuge in Ukraine's second-largest city, found itself caught in the crossfire. With the invading Russian army on one side and the Ukrainian front line on the other, thousands of animals were left trapped with little food and water. Against all odds, a courageous team of zookeepers and volunteers risked their lives to embark on a seemingly impossible mission: bringing these innocent creatures to safety.
"A work of heart-stopping suspense and tenderness" -- The Daily Beast
"Beautiful and beyond moving" -- CNN
CHECKPOINT ZOO
CHECKPOINT ZOO was our opening night film at the 2025 Newburyport Documentary Film Festival. It was a thrilling, sold-out screening. It deservedly won the Audience Award for favorite film.
It is playing again, for one night only, at the beloved Screening Room in Newburyport on Sunday, October 19th at 7:00pm. Bring a friend, you won't want to miss it!
2025 Festival
September 26-28
Our 21st year
Newburyport
Documentary
Film
Festival
NBPT DOCU FEST
We are the Filmmakers' Film Festival
Our 2025 Festival Winners
BEST FEATURE FILM: NIGHT FIGHT
Director: Khary Saeed Jones
BEST SHORT FILM: POPPY CRASH
Director: Andalusia K. Soloff
BEST NEW ENGLAND FEATURE FILM: UNLESS SOMETHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG
Directors: Kaitlyn Schwalje, Alex Wolf Lewis
BEST NEW ENGLAND SHORT FILM: DUKAKIS: RECIPE FOR DEMOCRACY
Directors: Erin Trahan, Jeff Schmidt
BEST FIRST TIME FEATURE FILM: THE OPENER
Director: Jeff Toye
THE DAVID KLEILER CINEPHILE AWARD: THE PAINTED LIFE OF GREGORY GILLESPIE
Director: Evan Goodchild
AUDIENCE AWARD: CHECKPOINT ZOO
Director: Joshua Zeman
2025 YES Award winner: METTLE
Directors: Surabhi Sundaram & Chelsea Casabona
Columbia University School of Journalism’s Master’s Program
Our 2025 Program
THE WATCH CLUB
THE WATCH CLUB: DEMOCRACY NOIR
Tuesday, October 21
In DEMOCRACY NOIR, three brave women fight to expose the corruption and incremental destruction of democracy in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary – a white nationalist regime that is the envy of authoritarian movements around the world.
We screened Connie Field's compelling new film at our festival in September. If you missed it now is your chance to view and participate in the live interview. As urgent as this film is, we invited Connie to join us for this month’s WATCH CLUB to continue our conversation.
If you haven’t seen it, watch DEMOCRACY NOIR, now available to rent on demand on Vimeo.Then make plans to join us in THE WATCH CLUB for a live Q&A with director Connie Field at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 21. Or watch the interview anytime afterward on our website.
What is THE WATCH CLUB?
Keep the conversation going throughout the year in THE WATCH CLUB. It's like a book club, but for documentaries. Each month we'll recommend a new documentary to stream, then invite you to join us on YouTube and Facebook for a live online Q&A with the filmmaker.
Our Sponsors
The Newburyport Documentary Film Festival is supported in part by grants from the local cultural councils of the surrounding towns as well as our local sponsors.
If you would like to become a sponsor, please visit our Sponsors page