My Octopus Teacher
{{short description|2020 documentary film by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = My Octopus Teacher
| image = My Octopus Teacher poster.jpg
| alt =
| director = {{Plainlist|
- Pippa Ehrlich
- James Reed
}}
| producer = Craig Foster
| writer = {{Plainlist|
- Pippa Ehrlich
- James Reed
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Craig Foster
- Tom Foster
- Octopus
}}
| music = Kevin Smuts
| cinematography = Roger Horrocks
| editing = {{Plainlist|
- Pippa Ehrlich
- Dan Schwalm
}}
| studio = Off The Fence
The Sea Change Project
| distributor = Netflix
| released = {{Film date|2020|09|04|Millennium Docs Against Gravity|ref1={{cite web|url=https://mdag.pl/17/en/warszawa/movie/Osmiornica%252C-nauczycielka|title=My Octopus Teacher|work=Millennium Docs Against Gravity|access-date=12 September 2020}}|2020|9|7|Netflix|df=y}}
| runtime = 85 minutes
| country = South Africa
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
My Octopus Teacher is a 2020 Netflix Original documentary film directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. It documents a year spent by filmmaker Craig Foster forging a relationship with a wild common octopus in a South African kelp forest. The film won Best Documentary Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards.[https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021 2021|Oscars.org][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T9f3RKLU5w "My Octopus Teacher" Wins Best Documentary Feature | 93rd Oscars]
Synopsis
In 2018, Craig Foster began free-diving in a cold underwater kelp forest at a remote location in False Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa.{{cite news | author=InterNewsCast | title=Where was 'My Octopus Teacher' on Netflix Filmed? | website=Internewscast | date=19 September 2020 | url=https://internewscast.com/where-was-my-octopus-teacher-on-netflix-filmed/ | access-date=19 October 2020}}{{Cite web|title=The (K)helpful forests of South Africa|url=https://www.capenature.co.za/khelpful-forests-south-africa/|access-date=19 November 2020|website=CapeNature|language=en|archive-date=25 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325224751/https://www.capenature.co.za/khelpful-forests-south-africa/|url-status=dead}} The location was near Simon's Town on the Cape Peninsula,{{Cite news|date=4 November 2018|title='How I became friends with an octopus'|first=Mohammed|last= Allie|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45967535|access-date=17 October 2020}} which is exposed to the cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean.{{cite web | title=Cape Point And The Waters Of False Bay... | website=Simonstown.com | url=https://www.simonstown.com/archives/stdc_aa_01-001.htm| access-date=19 October 2020}}
Foster started to document his experiences, and, in time, met a curious young octopus that captured his attention. The film shows Foster's growing intimate relationship with the octopus as he follows her around for nearly a year. They form an individual bond, and she plays with Foster and allows him into her world to see how she sleeps, lives, and eats. She frequently has to defend herself against pyjama sharks. In one attack, the octopus loses an arm, and she then retreats to her den to recover, slowly regenerating the arm over three months. In a later shark attack, she shows an incredibly improved creativity to survive, including sticking on the shark's back. After mating with a male octopus and producing numerous eggs, she dies naturally while tending to her eggs. Later, a shark scavenges her dead body and carries it off.
Foster describes the effect of this mentorship-like relationship the octopus provided him, teaching him a lesson on the fragility of life and humanity's connection with nature.{{Cite web|date=24 September 2020|title='My Octopus Teacher' Stuns Audiences, Reinforces Power of Nature|url=https://www.ecowatch.com/my-octopus-teacher-movie-2647785692.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3?rebelltitem=3|access-date=19 November 2020|website=EcoWatch|language=en}} This transfers to Foster creating a deeper bond with his son, Tom, as the boy develops as a diver and marine biology student.
Production
In partnership with The Sea Change Project, Off The Fence, and ZDF Enterprises, My Octopus Teacher was executive produced by Ellen Windemuth. It was directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. Cinematography was handled by underwater cameraman Roger Horrocks, with additional footage from Craig Foster and Roger Horrocks;{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1mZBhvSBrxc8wqb9SJCTCjj/getting-to-know-an-octopus |title=Getting to Know an Octopus |website=BBC |author=Craig Foster |access-date= 17 October 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/my-octopus-teacher-craig-foster/index.html |title=The incredible tale of a South African diver who formed an unlikely bond with an octopus |website=CNN |date=21 September 2020 |author=Katy Scott |access-date= 21 September 2020}} some underwater footage, not shown in the film, but filmed by the pair at the same location, had previously been included in Episode 5 of Blue Planet II (2017).{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5pFNpbMVvXyvHL66MMpnX1S/filming-the-octopus-houdini-in-south-africa|title=Filming the octopus Houdini in South Africa|website=BBC|date=|author=Kathryn Jeffs|access-date=26 January 2021}}
Foster was also the film's producer, via his involvement with The Sea Change Project,{{cite web | title=Projects | website=Sea Change Project | url=https://seachangeproject.com/projects/ | access-date=19 October 2020}} and his wife, Indian environmental journalist Swati Thiyagarajan, was the production manager.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=22 September 2020|title=SA filmmaker's documentary captivates the world|url=https://www.algoafm.co.za/entertainment/sa-filmmaker-s-documentary-captivates-the-world|access-date=26 December 2020|website=Algoa FM|language=en}}
The film, which Foster began filming in 2018, was years in the making, and was the first South African nature documentary to be a Netflix Original.{{Cite web|title='Octopus Teacher' Lets Filmmaker Into Secret World |website=Voice of America – English|date=9 September 2020 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/arts-culture_octopus-teacher-lets-filmmaker-secret-world/6195670.html|access-date=17 October 2020|language=en}}
Reception and legacy
My Octopus Teacher was released for streaming on Netflix on 7 September 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-02-tentacles-of-love-my-octopus-teacher-a-story-of-an-astonishing-friendship/#:~:text=Netflix's%20first%20original%20South%20African,deeply%20with%20his%20own%20humanity.&text=Like%20many%20great%20tales%2C%20it,a%20sad%20yet%20hopeful%20ending.|website=Daily Maverick |title=Tentacles of love: My octopus teacher, a story of an astonishing friendship |date=September 2020 |access-date=7 September 2020}}
The film received critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 44 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "A heartwarming look at the way a meaningful bond can transcend just about any barrier, this documentary will leave you asking your friends to come and see My Octopus Teacher with you."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_octopus_teacher|title=My Octopus Teacher (2020)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date=6 March 2025}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82% based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web |title=My Octopus Teacher |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/my-octopus-teacher |website=Metacritic |access-date=2021-01-01}}
The film was spoofed in the 2022 Documentary Now episode "My Monkey Grifter".[https://www.avclub.com/documentary-now-review-season-4-episode-5-my-monke-1849765108 Documentary Now! gets very mean (and very funny) with its take on My Octopus Teacher|A.V. Club]
Accolades
See also
{{Portal|Film|Oceans|South Africa}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Netflix title}}
- {{IMDb title|12888462}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s0LTDhqe5A Official trailer]
- [https://seachangeproject.com/ Sea Change Project] and its [https://stories.seachangeproject.com/the-making-of-my-octopus-teachernbsp The Making of My Octopus Teacher ]
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for My Octopus Teacher
|list =
{{Academy Award Best Documentary Feature}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Documentary}}
{{Producers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Motion Picture}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:My Octopus Teacher}}
Category:2020 documentary films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners
Category:Documentary films about marine biology
Category:Films about cephalopods
Category:Films about friendship
Category:Netflix original documentary films
Category:South African documentary films