I congratulate Craig Foster and the filmmaking team of My Octopus Teacher on winning the coveted Best Documentary Feature Academy Award®.Â
It is also a huge boost for the South African film industry as the film was shot in Cape Town and went on to capture the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world, profiling the natural beauty of the country. The global success of the film has also served to inspire emergent South African filmmakers.
Craig Foster is a gifted and talented documentary filmmaker whose work centres on the wonders of nature. Craig was brilliant in My Octopus Teacher, having completely immersed himself for over a year in the making of the film and forging a bond with the octopus on which the film focuses. Shooting every day, in a cold underwater kelp forest, for over a year is no mean feat and I admire Craig’s resilience and tenacity under these difficult conditions. My Octopus Teacher is filmmaking at its best, especially when a documentary is so hugely embraced by viewers all around the world.
The Best Documentary Feature Oscar is well-deserved, and I also congratulate Netflix on this accolade.
It was a privilege for me and Videovision Entertainment to have collaborated with Craig and Damon Foster on the film, My Hunter’s Heart which tracked the Khomani San of the Southern Kalahari, the oldest living indigenous tribe in the world, and which was shot over three-and-a-half-year period.
