My Octopus Teacher and the Rise of the Intimate Nature Film
The quiet Netflix documentary about a filmmaker's year-long bond with an octopus won an Oscar — and helped define a wave of single-subject wildlife storytelling.
By The ITSMOVIES Desk · August 8, 2026 · 4 min read
As Netflix prepares a new slate of single-animal nature documentaries, it is worth revisiting the film that helped establish the format: My Octopus Teacher, the 2020 documentary directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed.
The film tells the story of filmmaker and naturalist Craig Foster, who spent a year free-diving in a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa, where he formed an unlikely relationship with a wild common octopus. Over the course of the film, Foster documents the animal's daily life, intelligence and survival strategies while reflecting on how the experience helped him reconnect with the natural world.
Praised for its extraordinary underwater cinematography and meditative tone, the film brought renewed attention to the fragile ecosystems of the Great African Seaforest and demonstrated that a patient, character-driven approach to wildlife could resonate with mass audiences.
My Octopus Teacher won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards. Its influence is clearly visible in the intimate, single-subject documentaries streaming services continue to commission today.
