My Octopus Teacher

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. The location was near Simon's Town on the Cape Peninsula, which is exposed to the cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean. 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. 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; 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). Foster was also the film's producer, via his involvement with The Sea Change Project, and his wife, Indian environmental journalist Swati Thiyagarajan, was the production manager. 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. == Reception and legacy==

My Octopus Teacher was released for streaming on Netflix on 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." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82% based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The film was spoofed in the 2022 Documentary Now episode "My Monkey Grifter". ==Accolades==