My Octopus Teacher (2020)
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A filmmaker documents a year-long intimate bond with a wild common octopus in a South African kelp forest.
The story
In 2018, filmmaker Craig Foster began free-diving in a cold underwater kelp forest in False Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa. While documenting his experiences, he encountered a curious young octopus that captured his attention. Over the course of nearly a year, the two formed an individual bond. The octopus allowed Foster into her world, showing him how she sleeps, lives, and eats, while also demonstrating her ability to defend herself against predators like pyjama sharks.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2018, Craig Foster began free-diving in a cold underwater kelp forest in False Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa. He eventually met a curious young octopus and began documenting their growing intimate relationship over nearly a year. The octopus allowed him into her world, showing her daily life, including how she sleeps and eats, and her defense against pyjama sharks. During one attack, the octopus lost an arm, which she slowly regenerated over three months. In a subsequent attack, she displayed improved creativity to survive by sticking to a shark's back. After mating with a male and producing numerous eggs, the octopus died naturally while tending to them. A shark later scavenged her body. Foster describes the relationship as a mentorship that taught him about the fragility of life and humanity's connection with nature, which also helped him form a deeper bond with his son, Tom, as the boy became a diver and marine biology student.
- First release year
- 2020
- Runtime (minutes)
- 85
- Production countries
- South Africa
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Pippa Ehrlich; James Reed
- Writers
- Pippa Ehrlich · writer; James Reed · writer
- Cast and characters
- Craig Foster · filmmaker; Tom Foster · son; Octopus · wild common octopus
- Genres
- documentary; nature documentary; marine biology
- Themes
- humanity's connection with nature; fragility of life; friendship
- Tone and mood
- heartwarming
- Setting
- False Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa, in a cold underwater kelp forest.
- Premise and plot tags
- nature documentary; marine biology; friendship
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim, with positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and universal acclaim on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 93% · review count: 44; Metacritic · score: 82% · review count: 5
- Awards and nominations
- Best Documentary Feature · Academy Awards · 93rd · won
- Production trivia
- The film was spoofed in the 2022 Documentary Now episode 'My Monkey Grifter'.; Some underwater footage, not shown in the film, was previously included in Episode 5 of Blue Planet II (2017).; It was the first South African nature documentary to be a Netflix Original.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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