For a long time, Niki Caro didnt want to talk about being a female director. She would decline invitations to address Hollywoods gender gap. With a 25-year rsum that includes Whale Rider, North Country and McFarland, USA, Caro just wanted to focus on the work itself. And then she realized how minimally statistics surrounding female filmmakers had improved since she began making movies. (Last year, women directed a mere 7 percent of the 250 highest-grossing releases.)

Now, Caro is ready to do something about it, first by focusing on female-centric projects, and secondly by using her voice as a megaphone for the many talented women not granted the opportunities to prove themselves on the big screen.

That brings us to The Zookeepers Wife , which opened in limited release March 31 and expands to additional theaters this weekend. The true story of Antonina abiska, a Polish animal lover who hid Jews in her zoo during the Holocaust, was first told by Diane Ackerman in a 2007 book of the same name based on abiskas unpublished diary. Think of abiska, who is portrayed by Jessica Chastain, as another of historys hidden figures the people Caro expects Hollywood to shine a light on now that studios are more focused on womens stories.