Director: David Schurmann
An oil-soaked shoreline and a chance encounter set the stage for My Penguin Friend, David Schurmann's 2024 family drama about an unlikely bond between a fisherman and a rescued penguin.
What is My Penguin Friend about?
João, a fisherman weighed down by personal grief, comes across a penguin barely surviving after an oil spill has ravaged the coastline near his village. Rather than leaving the bird to its fate, he nurses it back to health, and the two form a connection that neither of them expected. As the penguin regains its strength, a quiet companionship grows between man and animal, giving João something to care about again after years of isolation. Eventually the pull of instinct and the wide ocean beyond the shore threaten to separate them, testing whether the friendship they built can survive distance and time. The story follows their relationship across years, tracing how a single act of kindness toward an injured animal reshapes a broken man's outlook on life.
Cast & crew
Jean Reno anchors the film as the grieving fisherman, bringing a quiet, weathered warmth to a role built around silence and gesture more than dialogue. Adriana Barraza and Nicolás Francella round out the human cast, while the penguin itself, portrayed through a mix of trained animals and effects, carries much of the film's emotional weight.
Context & significance
My Penguin Friend draws loosely from a real-life story that circulated online about a fisherman in Brazil who cared for a rescued Magellanic penguin, and the film relocates that premise into a fictionalized coastal setting. Director David Schurmann, a sailor and adventurer by background, brings an eye for ocean scale and texture that shapes much of the film's visual identity.
Where & how to watch
My Penguin Friend is available to stream on K-Time with a free account login, and the platform offers both a Persian dub and Farsi subtitles for viewers who prefer either option. K-Time's Farsi-language interface makes it simple for Persian-speaking families to find and enjoy the film together.