South Africa's My Octopus Teacher on Netflix wins the Oscar for best documentary film at the 93rd Academy Awards.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African film, My Octopus Teacher that was in the running for an Oscar statuette at the 93rd Academy Awards made history on Sunday night when it won its category of Best Documentary Feature on Sunday night and became the first-ever South African documentary film to win an Oscar.

My Octopus Teacher had already won 20 international awards, including Best Documentary at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) and Producers Guild of America Awards.

Pippa Ehrlich, co-director said that she was "utterly overwhelmed" with "an honour we never dreamed possible".

"I know there are many South Africans awake watching right now. In many ways this really is a tiny, personal story that played out in a sea forest at the very tip of Africa but on a more universal level I hope that it provided a glimpse of a different type of relationship between human beings and the natural world."

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president, in a personal letter sent before this year's Oscars, congratulated the production team of My Octopus Teacher, saying it was "documentary storytelling at its best, with a deeply resonant conservation message".

"The team should be justifiably proud, as are we, that My Octopus Teacher, has been nominated in the Best Documentary category for this year's Academy Awards - a first-ever for a South African documentary".

Filmmaker Craig foster who appears in the film and is seen building a relationship with a common octopus while diving near his home in False Bay, said that "the Academy Award elevates the great African Seaforest and surrounding ocean of South Africa into global iconic status".

"This is excellent news for us because it underlines what we have been aiming for: to show the world that we are sitting on a biodiversity treasure trove that is deeply worthy of protection."

"What has been most exciting for us as an organisation has been the feedback. We have received thousands of messages from people around the world."

"Many have started diving, studying marine sciences or using My Octopus Teacher as a tool in mental health workshops, and in discussions around emotional ecology and deep nature connection. We wanted to showcase this wonderful ecosystem, the great African Seaforest, to the world, and we have succeeded."

ALSO READ: South Africa's My Little Octopus on Netflix wins Best Documentary at the Bafta Film Awards 2021: 'Thank you to the very special little octopus who has opened hearts all over the world,' says co-director Pippa Ehrlich.

ALSO READ: South Africa's My Octopus Teacher makes final shortlist for 2021's Oscars in Best Documentary Feature category. 

South Africa's My Little Octopus on Netflix wins Best Documentary at the Bafta Film Awards 2021: 'Thank you to the very special little octopus who has opened hearts all over the world,' says co-director Pippa Ehrlich.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African film, My Octopus Teacher that is in the running for an Academy Award at this year's Oscars added to its existing award trophy haul on Sunday night after it scooped the best documentary prize in this category at the Bafta Film Awards 2021 in the United Kingdom.

Co-director Pippa Ehrlich accepted the award at the ceremony broadcast from London's Royal Albert Hall on Sunday night.

Pippa Ehrlich said that the production team had walked a "really long road together" and then also thanked the "very special little octopus who has opened hearts all over the world to the natural world and the great African sea forest" that features in the documentary film that is available on Netflix.

Next, South Africa's My Octopus Teacher as a 2020 Netflix Original will compete in the Best Documentary Feature against Collective (Magnolia Pictures and Participant), Crip Camp (Netflix), The Mole Agent (Gravitas Ventures), and Time (Amazon Studios).

My Octopus Teacher was directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed - who is in a rain forest in Uganda at the moment - and documents a year spent by filmmaker Craig Foster forging a relationship with an octopus in a South African kelp forest.

My Octopus Teacher was a decade in the making with Craig Foster who started filming in 2010. The film became the first South African Netflix Original nature documentary.

My Octopus Teacher has already won several awards, including Best Documentary at the LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival; and for Best Cinematography and Best Science/Nature Documentary at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards.

My Octopus Teacher also won Best Feature Film at the EarthxFilm Festival and Best Documentary Director at the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival for Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed.

The film also won Best Documentary Feature in January at the Houston Film Critics Society Awards; and won in the categories for Best Music Score and the Pare Lorentz Award at the International Documentary Association Awards that also took place in January this year. 

My Octopus Teacher also collected bling at the JacksonHole Film Festival in October 2020 where it picked up trophies in the categories for Best Editing, Best Science in Nature Film - long-form, Best People & Nature Film - long-form and snagged the awards' Grand Teton Award.

The 93rd Academy Awards will take place from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, as well as multiple locations on 25 April and will be broadcast on M-Net (DStv 101) in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa after it was pushed back from its originally scheduled 28 February date.

ALSO READ: South Africa's My Octopus Teacher makes final shortlist for 2021's Oscars in Best Documentary Feature category.