The Film and Media Studies Program presents a screening.
“My Octopus Teacher.”
In 2018, Craig Foster began free-diving in a cold underwater kelp forest at a remote location in False Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa. The location was near Simon’s Town on the Cape Peninsula, which is exposed to the cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean.
Foster started to document his experiences, and, in time, met a curious young octopus that captured his attention. The film shows Foster’s growing intimate relationship with the octopus as he follows her around for nearly a year. They form an individual bond, and she plays with Foster and allows him into her world to see how she sleeps, lives, and eats. He describes the effect of this mentorship-like relationship the octopus provided him, teaching him a lesson on the fragility of life and humanity’s connection with nature. This transfers to Foster, creating a deeper bond with his son, Tom, as the boy develops as a diver and marine biology student.
This screening is a part of the Family Narratives/Cultural Shifts film series. This film series features deeply personal films by documentarians, artists, activists, and agents of change who are united in their use of film/media to speak truth to power. These filmmakers use media to build community, family, and ultimately, family albums and archives that future generations can use to build their own practices. Just as the family album traditionally sought to unite folks across time, space, and difference, the films in these series are journeys that culminate in linkages, helping us understand nuances of identity and redefine ideas around family while illuminating personal relationships with larger cultural, social, and historical movements.