My Octopus Teacher (2020)

WOW WOW WOW! Watch this Oscar-nominated documentary for the magnificent cinematography, if nothing else. But there is much more––a man's free diving in shallow South African waters helps relieve his depression and teaches him and us about marine zoology. The music is lovely and the editing is outstanding.

The directors are Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed and the host/star is Craig Foster, who founded the Sea Change Project. The cinematography is by Ehrlich, Foster, Roger Horrocks, Dave Aenmey, Michael Raimondo, and Warren Smart, with aerial photography by Foster's son Tom Foster.

The lilting and emotional score by Kevin Smuts can be streamed with a subscription to Apple Music and for free on Spotify. Dan Schwalm assisted Ehrlich with editing.

I did a deep dive (heh heh) and found this fascinating Sea Change Project article on the making of the movie, which I recommend as well. Then here's some info on the common octopus, which answered my question after watching it: where is its mouth?

I noticed a credit for a colorist, Kyle Stroebel, especially because of the brilliant colors on screen.

Craig Foster's narration goes back and forth between the first person (I) and the second person (you), which takes some getting used to.

It's Ehrlich's and Raimondo's debut project, while Reed, Craig Foster, Horrocks, Schwalm, Smuts, and Stroebel have plenty of other credits. Smart has worked on one other project and Tom Foster has worked a lot, but only in the sound department.

Jack and I loved it, Amy and Deb each told me they did, and so did Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences, grading 100 and 95%, respectively. It's only 94 minutes on Netflix. Get schooled!