My Octopus Teacher is the story of an unlikely bond between filmmaker Craig Foster and an octopus. Of the experience, Foster says,' She taught me that we are inseparable from nature'. The Netflix documentary chronicles a never before seen relationship between a human and a mollusc.
The groundbreaking film was shot in a kelp forest off the Cape of Storms by 52-year-old Forest who tells us in the documentary that he started free-diving without a wetsuit in the icy kelp forest to re-energise himself after suffering severe burnout.
What then transpires is a journey in which he forges a remarkable relationship with the octopus and discovers what a truly incredible sea creature it is.
Cartoonist Rohan Chakravarty drew the cartoon seen below with the caption," James Reed and Pippa Ehrlich's film "My Octopus Teacher" about an unlikely bond between man (filmmaker Craig Foster) and octopus is to me a landmark in the documentation of the behaviour and individuality of wild animals. So many aspects of the cephalopod's life came across as a complete revelation watching the film, as I laughed and cried with Craig, following the daily life of his underwater companion and teacher". His words echo what many on social media say they felt while watching the film.
Take a look at the trailer right here.
Craig Foster is a co-founder of the Sea Change Project - an NPO whose goal is to protect South Africa’s marine environment by making the Great African Sea forest a global icon. “Through hundreds of hours of underwater exploration, they have come to understand this unique environment and the community of creatures that live within it. To date, we have generated millions of rands worth of publicity for our kelp forest. We support the call to sustainably increase South Africa’s marine protected areas (MPAs). We are committed to furthering global marine conservation goals towards 30% by 2030”.
