2021 Jackson Wild Summit

My Octopus Teacher Clips & Conversation

Expired October 17, 2020 4:00 AM
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Ecosystem - Long, People & Nature - Long, Science in Nature - Long, Audioscape, Cinematography, Editing, Original Music Score, Feature


Sea Change Project & Off the Fence - A ZDFE company, A Netflix Original Production


After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal. As the little octopus shares the secrets of her world, Craig undertakes an incredible mental and physical transformation. His body becomes immune to the cold of the deep and each breath lasts minutes on end. The octopus shows him things that have never been recorded by science or on film - how she uses tools to defend herself against a shark attack and “walks”, bipedally, tripedaly, and quadrupedally to navigate the seafloor. She even displays what may be the first recorded case of play behavior in wild cephalopods and ultimately redefines Craig’s understanding of the creatures we share our world with. 

Join Lisa Samford, Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed in a Clips and Conversation session!


Lisa Samford - Executive Director, Jackson Wild

Pippa Ehrlich - Co-Director

James Reed - Co-Director