Turtle Jorge will have his own documentary: his troubled arrival in the country, his days in Mendoza, and his dream of freedom.

Jorge, one of Mendoza 's most beloved animals, who mobilized a large crowd and a full-scale legal battle to secure his release , will have his own documentary . It's a docu-fiction project being developed by filmmaker and audiovisual producer Luna Herrera , who is in charge of the script and direction, and by lawyer Alfredo Mellado , who specializes in animal rights and protection and is the project's creator and producer.

Turtle Jorge managed to find his way and is heading north to Brazil.

Gentleness

"We started filming a few days ago and it's a very ambitious project. It will include interviews with important figures and historical and recent images of Jorge . We believe the entire project will take about a month , and we want to use locations like the Ecopark and the former aquarium itself," Mellado told Los Andes .

With a cinematographic educational approach, "Tortugo Jorge" (that is the name chosen for the documentary) seeks not only to tell Jorge's story , but also to transform the viewer into a committed and conscious witness , as Mellado highlighted.

The objective is to summarize the story of Jorge , his surprising and accidental arrival in Argentine waters , his rescue , his life in captivity in Mendoza and the entire adaptation process prior to his release , for which representatives from the Municipality of the City of Mendoza and the Marine Fauna Rehabilitation Center at the Mar del Plata Aquarium worked.

"The goal is to foster a deeper relationship with the environment and a call to responsible action for present and future generations," Mellado noted.

" Jorge , a legendary sea turtle, after four decades in captivity, dreams of returning to his ancestral home. He wants to swim freely without barriers , longing for every moment of the life that was taken from him. He fights to achieve his freedom along with a change of consciousness in society. With an unexpected turn in his life, he embarks on an epic rehabilitation journey where he must awaken his instincts of survival and resilience before returning to the deep ocean , dodging trawling nets, the threat of fishermen and the enormous environmental pollution ," describes the brief synopsis of the audiovisual that is already in process.

In early 1984 , at about 20 years old , a Caretta Caretta sea turtle was swimming freely in the Brazilian Atlantic Ocean , off Praia do Forte . Suddenly, a treacherous current swept the male turtle southward onto the mainland, leaving him stranded on a cold beach near Bahía Blanca (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina).

Injured as a result of the unexpected journey and numbed by the cold, the turtle was rescued by a group of fishermen , who also notified the coastal environmental authorities .

After analyzing the situation, the specialists agreed and determined that the only place in the country capable of providing specialized care and the necessary knowledge for his recovery was the then Municipal Aquarium of the City of Mendoza (paradoxically, a province with no connection to the sea or any maritime activity).

On March 4, 1984, Jorge —as the turtle was named after his rescue—began his prolonged stay in captivity at the Mendoza aquarium. For 38 years , the reptile lived in Mendoza , in two different enclosures . Until 2006, he lived in a small one that he shared with a nurse shark , which he bit in 2005, causing a wound that led to its death . Between 2006 and 2022 , Jorge was kept alone in a larger tank, holding 20,000 liters of freshwater and very different from his natural habitat.

Turtle George

Mendoza City

For years, one of the main attractions for aquarium visitors (a controversial term, if there ever was one) was to visit Jorge and see him through the glass. Adults and children would approach him to "greet" him and even celebrate with shouts when he approached the glass . Meanwhile, and just as had been decided at the time of his transfer, he was cared for by the authorities of the Mendoza aquarium .

"His calm gaze concealed a deep melancholy , a latent longing to return to his home , the sea ," describes the summary of the ongoing documentary .

Jorge's life began to change in 2021 , first in the Mendoza Courts . That year, Mellado and other professionals filed a "Habeas Corpus" petition in court to consider his release . This milestone, added to others that occurred at the current Mendoza Ecopark and with some of the animals that remained there, led to a change in the mentality of most people. The paradigm of considering zoos and aquariums as a space for fun and recreation at the expense of the captivity of the animals was changing. And, from the municipality of the City of Mendoza , the process of converting the then Mendoza Aquarium into a Center for the Conservation of Biodiversity (CCB) began.

As for the turtle Jorge , with the municipal decision to support the transfer request , he remained in Mendoza until October 22, 2022. That day, the specimen was transferred to the Marine Fauna Rehabilitation Center (CRFM) at the Mar del Plata Aquarium , where he began an adaptation process in 120,000 liters of salt water and a more natural environment. For two years , specialists and referents were working to recover skills and strengthen his body to face life in the open ocean .

Finally, around noon on Friday, April 11, 2025 , the popular turtle was released into the sea , marking the beginning of a new stage in his life .

"Her story is a reminder of the importance of respecting the freedom and well-being of all living beings . And it raises profound questions about the relationship between humans and nature , about the responsibility we have toward the creatures with whom we share the planet, and about the true value of freedom for all living beings," concludes the documentary summary.

According to its creators, this work seeks to become an emotional story that follows Jorge's life from his rescue to his rehabilitation and release , in addition to exploring themes such as captivity , conservation and the right of animals to live in their natural environment .

"The project is planned in two formats , an educational short film aimed at the 5 to 14 age group and a feature-length film for the general public, where through previously unseen images and expert testimonies, the documentary will offer an in-depth look at Jorge 's transformation and the paradigm shift in Argentine society regarding the treatment of animals," describe those responsible for "Tortugo Jorge" .

"It's the story of an indomitable spirit that refuses to give up, a symbol of resilience, and the urgent call to protect our planet and its inhabitants," they emphasize.

• Technical sheet
• Title: "Turtle George" .
• Written and directed by: Luna Herrera.
• Original idea and production: Alfredo Mellado.
• Format: DocuFiction Short Film - Feature Film.
• Genre: Biographical - Expository .
• Focus: Educational, Environmental, Reflective, Poetic .
• Duration: 30 minutes - 70 minutes .
• Language: Spanish, English, Portuguese .
• Target: 6 to 13 - ATP .
• Year: 2025 .
• Country: Argentina .