Bird’s-eye View
Based on the true story of Sam Bloom’s life-changing injury and psychological recovery with the aid of her family’s pet magpie, Penguin Bloom eschews aesthetic or narrative overcomplication in its translation to screen. Speaking with director Glendyn Ivin, Jasmine Crittenden discusses a filmmaking process in which the unpredictability of working with children and animals was embraced – and a film in which personal relationships, be they human or bird, take centre stage.
For years before making Penguin Bloom (2020), director Glendyn Ivin had wanted to make a film about animals. ‘When I was a kid, I loved films with animals in them – and it’s stuck with me ever since,’ he says.
Storm Boy [Henri Safran, 1976] has always been a touchstone for me. I saw it at the cinema when I was around seven years old. I was so moved then, and I still am. I also loved Ring of Bright Water [Jack Couffer, 1969], a film about an otter set in Scotland. Animals can’t speak, and so audiences automatically have a different kind of relationship with them; we naturally project what they’re thinking or feeling.
After discussing this interest with Bec Smith, his agent in the United States, Ivin received a book in the mail, Penguin Bloom: The Odd Little Bird
