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# The Heartwarming Tale of a Man Who Befriended an Octopus
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/my-octopus-teacher-netflix-documentary/
- Published: 2020-09-18T11:30:04.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:42:47.000Z
- Description: In My Octopus Teacher, filmmaker Craig Foster documents his unusual relationship with an octopus he met while freediving.
- Author: Dan Schindel
- Tags: Film, Capsule Reviews, Documentary, nature, Netflix, Review, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:41 (2019, 2020, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/octopus-teacher.jpg)

Social media is choked with inspirational viral photos and videos of unusual animal friendships, but [*My Octopus Teacher*](https://www.netflix.com/title/81045007?ref=hyperallergic.com)is something very different. A year-long diary about one man and one octopus, it’s full of genuine wonder about the natural world, and frames the central relationship in terms that go beyond the mere “Aww, that’s cute!” response.

In 2010, suffering severe burnout, nature filmmaker Craig Foster took to freediving amidst the kelp forests in the frigid waters off South Africa. There he met and gradually befriended a female octopus, visiting her every day until she felt comfortable playing with him. He took to filming her and also installed remote cameras around her territory, capturing some astonishing footage of her fighting pyjama sharks, hunting crabs, and just exploring. Through observing and interacting with her, Foster gained a new, awed understanding of both nature and nonhuman intelligence — a sensation conveyed to the viewer in the way directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed shape Foster’s footage into a narrative.

**WARNING**: Octopuses don’t live that long. Yes, the octopus dies, and yes, you will cry. Prepare accordingly.

[My Octopus Teacher](https://www.netflix.com/title/81045007?ref=hyperallergic.com) *is available to stream on Netflix.*