My Octopus Teacher

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My Octopus Teacher
File:My Octopus Teacher poster.jpg
Directed by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Pippa Ehrlich
  • James Reed
Produced by Craig Foster
Written by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Pippa Ehrlich
  • James Reed
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Craig Foster
  • Tom Foster
Music by Kevin Smuts
Cinematography Roger Horrocks
Edited by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Pippa Ehrlich
  • Dan Schwalm
Production
company
Off The Fence
The Sea Change Project
Distributed by Netflix
Release dates
 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • 4 September 2020 (2020-09-04) (Millennium Docs Against Gravity)[1]
  • 7 September 2020 (2020-09-07) (Netflix)
Running time
 85 minutes
Country South Africa
Language English

My Octopus Teacher is a 2020 Netflix Original documentary film directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, which documents a year spent by filmmaker Craig Foster forging a relationship with a wild common octopus in a South African kelp forest. At the 93rd Academy Awards, it won the award for Best Documentary Feature.[2][3]

File:Moving Octopus Vulgaris 2005-01-14.ogv
Common Octopus

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.[4][5] The location was near Simon's Town on the Cape Peninsula,[6] which is exposed to the cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean.[7]

He 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 a bond where 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 upon her, the octopus loses an arm, and 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.[8] This transfers to Foster creating a deeper bond with his son, Tom Foster, as his son develops as a diver and marine biology student.

Production

In partnership with Sea Change Project, Off The Fence and ZDF Enterprises, My Octopus Teacher was executively produced by Ellen Windemuth. It was directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. Cinematography was directed by underwater cameraman Roger Horrocks with footage from Craig Foster and Roger Horrocks.[9][10] A smaller amount of underwater footage, not shown in the film, but filmed by the same pairing at the same location, had been shown previously on Blue Planet II, episode 5.[11]

Foster was also a producer via his involvement with the Sea Change Project,[12] and his wife, Indian environmental journalist Swati Thiyagarajan, was production manager for the film.[13]

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.[14]

Reception and legacy

My Octopus Teacher was released on 7 September 2020 on Netflix.[15]

My Octopus Teacher received critical acclaim. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of Lua error in Module:Rotten_Tomatoes_data at line 72: invalid escape sequence near '"^'. based on Lua error in Module:Rotten_Tomatoes_data at line 72: invalid escape sequence near '"^'. reviews, with an average rating of Lua error in Module:Rotten_Tomatoes_data at line 72: invalid escape sequence near '"^'.. 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."[16] On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 82% based on reviews from 5 critics.[17]

The film was also spoofed on the Documentary Now episode My Monkey Grifter.[18]

Accolades

Award nominations for My Octopus Teacher
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards 25 April 2021 Best Documentary Feature Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster Won [19]
American Cinema Editors Awards 17 April 2021 Best Edited Documentary (Feature) Pippa Ehrlich and Dan Schwalm Won [20]
British Academy Film Awards 11 April 2021 Best Documentary Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster Won [21][22]
Cinema Audio Society Awards 17 April 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture – Documentary Barry Donnelly and Charl Mostert Nominated [23]
Cinema Eye Honors Awards 9 March 2021 Audience Choice Prize Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Nominated [24]
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Roger Horrocks Nominated
LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival 4 February 2021 Best Documentary Pippa Ehrlich and Dan Schwalm Won [25]
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards 16 November 2020 Best Cinematography Roger Horrocks Won [26]
Best Science/Nature Documentary My Octopus Teacher Won
Best Narration Craig Foster Nominated [27]
Best Documentary My Octopus Teacher Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards 10 April 2021 Outstanding Directional Achievement in Documentary Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Nominated [28]
EarthxFilm Festival 26 April 2020 Best Feature Film The Octopus Teacher Won [29]
GREEN SCREEN Wildlife Film Festival 12 September 2020 Best Film Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Won
Best Marine Film Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Won
Best Story Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Won
Best Independent Production Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Nominated
Best Score Kevin Smuts Nominated
Heinz Sielmann Award Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Nominated
Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival 17 December 2020 Best Documentary Director Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Won [30]
Houston Film Critics Society Awards 18 January 2021 Best Documentary Feature My Octopus Teacher Won [31]
International Documentary Association Awards 16 January 2021 Best Music Score Kevin Smuts Won [32]
Best Writing Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed Nominated
Pare Lorentz Award Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster Won
Jackson Hole Film Festival 1 October 2020 Grand Teton Award My Octopus Teacher Won [33]
Best People & Nature Film – Long Form My Octopus Teacher Won
Best Science in Nature Film – Long Form My Octopus Teacher Won
Best Editing Pippa Ehrlich, Dan Schwalm and Jinx Godfrey Won
Best Ecosystem Film – Long Form My Octopus Teacher Nominated
Best Feature Film My Octopus Teacher Nominated
Best Cinematography Roger Horrocks and Craig Foster Nominated
Best Original Music Score Kevin Smuts Nominated
Best Audioscape Barry Donnelly Nominated
Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards 16 April 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Documentary Barry Donnelly and Charl Mostert Nominated [34]
Producers Guild of America Awards 24 March 2021 Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures Craig Foster Won [35]
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 11 January 2021 Best Documentary Film My Octopus Teacher Nominated [36]
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 17 January 2021 Best Documentary Feature My Octopus Teacher Nominated [37]

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2021|Oscars.org
  3. ↑ "My Octopus Teacher" Wins Best Documentary Feature | 93rd Oscars
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  18. ↑ Documentary Now! gets very mean (and very funny) with its take on My Octopus Teacher|A.V. Club
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Watch: The moment SA's 'My Octopus Teacher' wins a BAFTA (video)|The South African
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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