South African documentary My Octopus Teacher has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Documentary Feature category. Gunning for the win, the acclaimed film will go up against four other documentaries in the category.
Directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, starring in the film is award-winning filmmaker, Craig Foster and the octopus friend he encounters while freediving in the Atlantic Ocean.
In the film, Foster follows her on daily dives and observes as she hunts for prey. Foster documents his many efforts of trying to understand her world and how that journey led to emotional growth.
‘She taught me compassion. She opened my mind to just how complex and precious wild creatures are,’ said Foster in an interview with TIME.
Since the film’s premiere on Netflix, it has won two awards at the Critics’Choice Documentary Awards (CCDA) in November 2020, the Grand Teton Award at the Jackson Wild Media Awards in August 2020 and the Best Feature Film award at the EarthX film festival.
It doesn’t end there. The film has been nominated for a Bafta Award and a Directors Guild Award too. ‘I realised that we had something that was very, very unique and very powerful and I’ve never seen anything like it,’ stated Ehrlich in an interview with Channel24.
By Zimasa Katamzi
Picture: Screenshot from film
