How did one tiny octopus change so many lives?
To combat burnout and depression, filmmaker & diver Craig Foster had taken up diving in the icy waters of South Africa's Kelp Forest where he met one very special Common Octopus. A year of observing and filming the octopus' short life later, he sent the film to fellow documentarian Pippa Ehrlich, who crafted the footage into a meditation on the importance of wildlife and a moving tale about her friend and his octopus teacher.
Join Roberta as she chats with Pippa about the Academy-Award winning documentary, her work with the Sea Change Project, and some of her favorite advice from Jane Goodall.
This episode was originally recorded as part of the Ridgewood Public Library's Reel Voices program on July 14, 2021. It has been lightly edited for clarity.
Episode Credits:
- A Bend in the Road is written, hosted and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims
- Original Music is written and performed by Diane Sims
- Our Assistant Producer is me, Elias Rosner
- Our Technical Directors and Audio Engineers are Charles Gallo and Elias Rosner
- Our Editor is Elias Rosner
- Our Digital Media producers are Sabrina Garcia and Elias Rosner
- Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas
- Very special thanks to our guest Pippa Ehrlich.
- My Octopus Teacher is a trademark and copyright of Off the Fence & the Sea Change Project. All rights reserved.
- My Octopus Teacher can be streamed on Netflix.
- The film’s tie-in book Underwater Wild: My Octopus Teacher's Extraordinary World by Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck is available at the Ridgewood Library and wherever you get your books. The children’s picture book version Journey Under the Sea comes out this October.
- Sound effects used include “Underwater Ambience” by Fission9
