Upamanyu Biswas
‘My Penguin Friend’ is an inspirational movie about a genuine friendship between a Magellanic penguin and his human rescuer, João Pereira de Souza. The film follows João, an aging fisherman with past traumas who happens across an injured penguin on the beaches of a Brazillian island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Subsequently, João takes it home with him and nurses it back to health over the course of weeks. However, the astonishing part of the story happens after he sends it back into the wild. The penguin, named Dindim, travels back every few months to spend time with his human companion, highlighting the strength of their relationship. For João, it represents a new lease on life, as his incredible story takes precedence owing to its roots in reality.
João’s Remarkable Real-Life Bond With Dindim Inspires the Story of My Penguin Friend
‘My Penguin Friend’ is drawn from the real-life story of João Pereira de Souza and his bond with the Magellanic penguin, Dindim. In the movie, João is depicted as a fisherman when, in reality, he was a retired bricklayer who found Dindim in the Praia de Provetá beach in 2011. The bird was soaked in oil, starving, and in need of attention. Subsequently, João took it home with him and cleaned its tarred feathers for over a week. He nursed it back to health by feeding it small fish before readying to release him so he could return to his native habitat. However, the bird ended up not leaving and stayed with João for 11 months until he grew new feathers.
After it left, many were convinced that the penguin was gone for good, but this turned out to be false. Every June following his recovery in 2011, Dindim returned to its human friend and stayed with him until February. It spoke to the deep bond and trust the pair had for one another and why Dindim kept returning back to him. In the movie, João’s reasons for caring for Dindim are shown to be intrinsically linked to the loss of his son Miguel, which takes place in the early portions of the movie. However, this deviates from actual events, as the retired bricklayer went 25 years without meeting his son.
In many ways, nurturing Dindim and providing for him made João feel like he was reconnecting with his son, which strangely ended up happening on the same TV show that made his story go viral in 2016. For director David Schurmann, João’s relationship with Dindim was not just a one-way trade for the penguin but also a source of healing for the former. “People always talk about how Seu João rescued the penguin. But for me, the story is also about how Dindim rescued him,” the filmmaker said. Therefore, a central aspect of João’s story in the movie revolves around the trauma generated after his son’s death and how it slowly unravels itself as he grows closer to Dindim. The fisherman’s incredible connection with the penguin provides a deep emotional heft to the story.
João Still Waits to Reunite With Dindim to This Day
In September 2016, João Pereira de Souza lost all contact with his beloved penguin, Dindim, who left earlier than usual and has not returned since. Dindim was of breeding age at the time and likely found a group to bed in with and form its own family. However, oceanographer Hugo Gallo Neto, the director of Ubatuba Aquarium, suggested that the bird could have fallen prey to any number of human or natural threats. For João, the separation was a difficult point in the relationship, albeit brought about through natural circumstances.
In August 2020, he stated in a couple of videos that he was still on the lookout for Dindim and wished he would come back and play with him like the old times. He also said that he thought about him all the time. As there were no tracking devices attached to Dindim’s body when he left, it is hard to theorize the whereabouts of the Magellanic penguin. The 80-year-old attended the Los Angeles premiere of ‘My Penguin Friend’ alongside the cast and crew on August 10, 2024, catching a glimpse of his and Dindim’s story on the big screen. Even today, João holds on to hope that someday his friend and companion will return back to him like the old days.
Read More: Is Dindim the Penguin Real or CGI? Where is He Now?
