My Octopus Teacher received critical acclaim. My Octopus Teacher was released on 7 September 2020 on Netflix. The film, which Foster began filming in 2010, was ten years in the making and was the first South African nature documentary to be a Netflix Original. įoster was also a producer via his involvement with the Sea Change Project, and his wife, Indian environmental journalist Swati Thiyagarajan, was production manager for the film. 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. Cinematography was directed by underwater cameraman Roger Horrocks with footage from Craig Foster and Roger Horrocks. It was directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. In partnership with Sea Change Project, Off The Fence and ZDF Enterprises, My Octopus Teacher was executively produced by Ellen Windemuth. This transfers to Foster creating a deeper bond with his son as his son develops as a diver and marine biology student. Later, a shark scavenges her dead body and carries it off.įoster 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. After mating with a male octopus and producing a large number of eggs, she dies naturally while tending to her eggs. In a later shark attack, she shows an incredibly improved creativity to survive, including sticking on the shark's back. In one attack upon her, the octopus loses an arm, and retreats to her den to recover, slowly regenerating the arm over three months. She frequently has to defend herself against pyjama sharks. They form a bond where she plays with Foster and allows him into her world to see how she sleeps, lives, and eats. The film shows Foster's growing intimate relationship with the octopus as he follows her around for nearly a year. He started to document his experiences and, in time, met a curious young octopus that captured his attention. The location was near Simon's Town on the Cape Peninsula, which is exposed to the cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean. "When she chooses to let you into her world… it’s a very, very special moment of not just being accepted, but that your presence to her also feels natural, like you belong in that space with her.”įascinating, right? Check out the trailer below to see for yourself.In 2010, Foster began free-diving in a cold underwater kelp forest at a remote location in False Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa. In an interview with CNN, Foster spoke of their intimacy, saying: “It’s not like you are in a Jeep and arrive upon a hunting scene on land.
The documentary sees the bond form between Foster and a female octopus, as he observes its behavioural changes and her growing trust of him, with the pair forming a bond unlike anything you’ve probably seen before. Said forests are some of the most predator dense on Earth, with the water temperature dropping to approximately eight degrees Celsius. Making a pact with himself to swim every day in the freezing waters off Cape Town, South Africa, Foster risked his life to swim in the kelp forests beneath the water. Choosing to fix the problem, he decided to put a halt on his career and use the time to reconnect with nature. Netflix's My Octopus Teacher follows the documentarian Craig Foster who felt burnt out and depressed by his work.
Netflix What Is the Plot of My Octopus Teacher?