A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
Craig Foster, suffering from a loss of purpose, begins a daily diving regimen in the freezing kelp forests at the tip of Africa in order to re-energize himself. What he discovers below the water’s surface is a totally alien motivation in the form of an unusually curious octopus. This beautiful record of an animal’s entire life—something seldom achieved in the wild, let alone underwater—was shot over a full year and explores the habits and personality of a strange, undulating creature that most of us have only ever eaten. Beyond intelligent, dextrous and resilient, the cephalopod shares her secret world with Foster as they develop a touching bond. The underwater encounters are literally breathtaking as Foster holds his breath while interacting with the octopus. An immersive portrait of human–animal understanding, brimming with danger, drama and devastating emotion, My Octopus Teacher grabs you with all eight arms and changes its camouflage—showing you colours and textures you’ve never seen before.
Watch on Netflix.
“What she taught me is to feel that you are part of this place. Not a visitor. And that’s a huge difference.” – Craig Foster
We are part of a living planet. Nature is our life support system and biodiversity is the immune system of the Earth. If we don’t come together and find ways of regenerating the natural world and protecting the wild places we have left, our species will become extinct.
If an octopus can give up its life for its children, what can we do as humans to ensure a liveable planet for all the generations that will come after us?
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The Octopus Teacher’s home is a giant underwater forest that fringes the shores of Cape Town and stretches north for more than 1000km into Namibia. The kelp forest is a fragile, ever-changing wonderland, that provides food and shelter for thousands of species. Some of these animals are found nowhere else on Earth and others are not yet known to science.
“What’s so amazing about this environment is you’re in a three-dimensional forest and you can jump off the top and go anywhere you want, you’re flying basically…The animals are extremely exotic and strange. It’s much more extreme than our maddest science fiction.” – Craig Foster
The Great African Seaforest is a global treasure, but unlike famous wild places like the Amazon or the Serengeti, hardly anyone even knows that it exists. We hope that by telling the octopus’ story, we have revealed the magic of her home.
The Seaforest is an iconic undersea wilderness because:
- it provides a home for thousands of animals, including the Octopus Teacher’s descendants
- it is the heart of the world. Human beings have lived on the shores of the Great African Seaforest for more than 100 000 years and the oldest archaeological evidence of art and science is found here. This is every human being’s original home.
- is an intact wild space for people to visit and connect to, reminding them that they are part of the natural world
- it is a global treasure and a place of extreme natural beauty
- it plays an important role in climate mitigation, because it covers such a massive area, sequestering carbon and creating oxygen
- it is an important nursery area for fishes, supporting Africa’s fisheries
- it protects the coastline from storms – especially as sea levels rise and weather becomes more extreme
“I have no doubt that an ecosystem such as this is of inestimable value and should be protected.” – Sir David Attenborough
