The South African-made documentary My Octopus Teacher took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature during the Academy Awards hosted on Sunday, April 25.
The 2020 Netflix original documentary film was directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. It documents filmmaker and diver, Craig Foster befriending a wild octopus that lives in the kelp forest along the False Bay coast.
“In many ways this really is a tiny personal story that played out in 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, said co-director, Pippa Ehrlich.
Upon accepting the award, she said that she was “utterly overwhelmed” with “an honour we never dreamed possible.”
This is not the first time this tear-jerking documentary has taken home a top prize. My Octopus Teacher also won the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) for Best Documentary.
The pandemic-style ceremony was broadcasted live from a train station. The event took place early this morning, Monday 26 April. For those who missed it, a rebroadcast will be airing tonight at 12.30pm on M-Net, channel 101.
Picture: Unsplash