South African documentary gets Oscar nomination

The South African documentary My Octopus Teacher continues to scoop up awards, and is now nominated for one of the most prestigious film awards out there: the Oscars.

The Netflix Original documentary was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature award at the Oscars, which take place on 25 April.

The film follows Craig Foster, a filmmaker who spent years following some of the planet’s most dangerous animals. After being burned out by his career, and with his family relationships in turmoil, he decided to put a halt on his career. He reconnected with his roots: the magical underwater world of the kelp forest off the coast of Cape Town.

For nearly a decade, Foster went diving daily in the icy cold waters, ditching wetsuit and scuba rig in one of the most predator-dense places on earth. The common octopus he met and tracked became first his subject, then his teacher, showing him things no human had ever witnessed. Shot over eight years, with 3,000 hours of footage, My Octopus Teacher documents a friendship, interaction and animal intelligence never seen before.

The film was produced by Foster and directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed.

We wish Foster and his team the best of luck at the Oscars, which will take place in April in two venues: the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. The format of the ceremony has not yet been announced but, judging from the dual venue format, will likely follow socially distanced guidelines.

Watch My Octopus Teacher on Netflix: netflix.com/myoctopusteacher