A unique story of connection,” is how South African filmmaker and naturalist Craig Foster refers to his underwater adventures with a wild common octopus documented in the film “My Octopus Teacher.”
The Netflix film shows the bond that develops between Foster and the eight-legged creature during a year of diving in a kelp forest in the Atlantic Ocean. It won this year’s Academy Award and British Academy Film and Television Arts Award for best documentary.
Foster said he thinks that “My Octopus Teacher” has captured hearts worldwide because few of the many wonderful natural-history films are about a human’s relationship with the wild.
“I think people around the world are yearning to have some kind of real connection with the natural world, and this film speaks to that need,” he said.
Foster said he has had many such experiences with nature: “Having a fish swim into your hand, or a cuttlefish approach you, or an otter swim with you and reach out and touch you, are all such incredible gifts.”
Foster recommended the following on connecting with nature:
Spend at least 20 minutes in nature every day. Feel the air you are breathing. Let your bare feet connect with the ground. If you are lucky to have a garden, spend time there. Even if you live in a city, there are parks or trees that you can explore. Be curious. Be observant. Ask questions. Begin with learning the names of five of your local trees, five birds and five animals. See what you can find out about them.
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