'The Penguin Lessons' Trailer Befriends Flightless Birds
One of the 2024's Toronto International Film Festival favorites has been scooped up by Sony Pictures Classic and is slated for release in the spring of 2025. The Penguin Lessons, Steve Coogan's adorable dramedy, in which he plays a wayward British teacher who befriends/is adopted by a penguin, was a hit with audiences at TIFF and soon landed global distribution through the Sony label. Coogan, a well-known U.K. comedian who has strayed into drama more of late (his next TV series will be opposite Harriet Walter in Brian & Margaret) was a draw, of course, but audiences really showed up for the penguin.
“We had to kick against the cuteness at all times,” Coogan said in an interview with Variety ahead of the film's festival premiere. “Fortunately, I’ve done a lot of improvisation in my career, so I know not to freeze when animals aren’t behaving as planned. You lean into it instead of pushing back against it. That can lead to some of the best moments.” But despite fighting the cuteness, Coogan admitted he'd come to love his co-star birds. “By the time I was on set, I was comfortable picking them up. By the time we said goodbye, it was very emotional. They disarm you. Human beings are too inward-looking and preoccupied with things that aren’t important. These birds remind you not to take everything so seriously.”
Not that the movie doesn't have a dramatic angle. Check out the trailer.
Here's the film's synopsis:
Based on the successful book of the same name by Tom Michell, the film charts the true story of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, he discovered instead a complicated and divided nation – and a class of practically unteachable young boys. However, when he finds a small penguin washed up on an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside down – and the penguin becomes not only a valued friend but also a teacher to all he meets.
Steve Coogan (...with Alan Patridge) leads a cast that includes Jonathan Pryce (Slow Horses), Micaela Breque (The Mallorca Files), Björn Gustafsson (Becoming Astrid), Vivian El Jaber (Guapas), Aimar Miranda (Nacho), Florencia Nocetti (Money Heist), Hugo Fuertes (Bose), Romina Cocca (My Oxford Year), Miguel Alejandro Serrano (CCCC Stories), Gera Maleh (The Queen of Fear), Ramiro Blas (Peacemaker), Alfonsina Carrocio (Society of the Snow), Juan M. Barreiro (Holy Family), Tomás Pozzi (The Three Wise Kings vs. Santa), plus newcomers David Herrero, Nicanor Fernandez, and Joaquín Lopez.
Peter Cattaneo directed the film from a script by Jeff Pope, adapted from Tom Michell’s 2016 memoir. Coogan, Pope, Mitchell and Josh Varney executive produced the film, alongside Joshua Horsfield and Nia Vazirani for Rolling Dice.
The Penguin Lessons will debut in theaters on Friday, April 18, 2025.
