What’s important for South Africans to know is, people have been living on the coastline of the Western Cape for at least 120,000 years. There’s no where else on Earth where we have that kind of human history. It’s known as the Cradle of the Human Mind because this is the very first time, you know, evidence has been found this is the first time that we started making art, the world’s oldest chemistry kit was discovered on our coastline, the first evidence of bows and arrows. Human beings have been living in a Kelp forest environment pretty much since the beginning of our time as this species, so it’s very special and it’s actually, it’s not just home for South Africans it’s really home for every single human being on Earth because we all come from there. Producer/Director Pippa Ehrlich. Congratulations to #MyOctopusTeacher​ for winning big at The Oscar Awards! The South African based Netflix film was nominated under the Documentary Feature category. Watch #MyOctopusTeacher​ on Netflix and be marveled by the magical marine life. A story set in a kelp forest in #FalseBay​, #CapeTown​ South Africa, we say #MyOctopusTeacher​ definitely deserves the Oscar! #ShareSouthAfrica​ #MeetSouthAfrica​ #FalseBay Learn more about the destination at www.southafrica.net

"South Africa’s a very special country from coast to mountain. Cape Town itself is just an incredibly beautiful place also an incredibly diverse place, you have Table Mountain, you have indigenous forest and then you have this wealth marine life where you can see orcas and seals and penguins and whales and dolphins all on the same day and octopuses, massive invertebrate bio-diversity. I think, Cape Town is one of the most important bio-diversity hotspots on the planet and it’s also home to a huge community of endemic species and endemics are animals that you only find in that specific place and then when we talk specifically about the Great African sea forest, which is, the beautiful home of The Octopus Teacher. The thing about kelp forests is they cover 25% of the world’s coastlines, they are critical eco systems, they absorb carbon, they protect coastlines from storms and swell which is very important at this time because of rising sea levels and then they are just home to this unbelievable community of animals. They have some of the most bio-diverse habitats on Earth but, what’s happening, all over the world, because of climate change, is they are incredibly fragile. What’s incredible about the Greta African sea forest is the habitat is thriving, you know, it’s a very extensive kelp forest. It runs from De Hoop in the east all the way up the west coast to Namibia in the west and it’s healthy and the structure is there and although, you know, it’s not pristine but because the habitat is thriving the way that it is it really could be and you put your heard under the water there and you will see things that you never dreamed were possible and you’ll look up and there will be light playing through the forest and light rays shining down on you, and, it’s a dreamlike experience. It’s like being in a painting". Film Director, Pippa Ehrlich. We congratulate Netflix’s #MyOctopusTeacher​ for winning at The Oscars. The incredibly beautiful story of one of South Africa’s magical marine life and biodiversity, #MyOctopusTeacher​ was nominated for an Oscar award under the Documentary Feature category. Set in a kelp forest in #FalseBay​, #CapeTown​, South Africa, we say #MyOctopusTeacher​ definitely deserves the Oscar! #ShareSouthAfrica

We didn’t choose a location for this film because we never knew it was going to be a film, this is just what Craig does and what the C-Change project does, we live in Cape Town so we dive in Cape Town. And there are incredible dive sites all over the city, right on our doorstep and the incredible power of this film in some ways, and the joy of it from a filmmaking point of view is that, most natural history shoots you get flown off to some exotic location and then you’re under incredible pressure to get everything you need in three weeks. When you live and work in your home, you can be very picky about exactly the shot that you want. You know, you can wait for the best visibility, you can wait for the scariest storm. And the most amazing part of all of it is you go and dive, and you have these mind blowing experiences and you hold that feeling in your heart, and then you sit down straight afterwards and go back to the edit suite like this magical process of alchemy where it just pours into the film that you’re creating, so this was a once in a lifetime filmmaking process. It’s certainly changed my life." Film Director, Pippa Ehrlich. A showcase of South Africa’s beautiful biodiversity hotspot in a Western Cape kelp forest of #FalseBay​, Netflix's #MyOctopusTeacher​ has won an Oscar award under the Documentary Feature category. Good luck to the team for the brilliant story of a once-in-a-lifetime encounter in one of the most exquisitely beautiful environments on earth 🐙 #ShareSouthAfrica​ #CapeTown​ #FalseBay Learn more about the destination on www.southafrica.net

"Craig is a, he’s really a water man by nature. His parents brought him back from the hospital and dumped in the water on his first day on Earth and he learnt to dive as a 3 year-old going down on his dad’s back which is the same thing he did with his son 30 years later." I think Craig’s whole childhood psyche was completely defined by running around in Cape Town on the intertidal area, exploring the rock pools and picking up pieces of kelp and just feeling close to that environment so it was a place that was alive in his heart for a very long time. " - Film Director, Pippa Ehrlich. South Africa is an incredibly beautiful country from the beach to berg. Let’s all raise our flags high and congratulate Netflix’s #MyOctopusTeacher​ for their win at The Oscars. A story of a beautiful once-in-a-lifetime encounter, #MyOctopusTeacher​ was nominated for an Oscar award under the Documentary Feature category. #ShareSouthAfrica​ #CapeTown​ #FalseBay. Learn more about the destination at www.southafrica.net

"I feel like I’m in a dream, very excited and very motivated and incredibly grateful that everything has worked out the way it has. It’s very hard to explain you know, we started off with this tiny team really just Craig and I with an edit suite in his attic, but what we did have is one of the most exquisitely beautiful environments on Earth that the world hadn’t really seen before. It’s been an enormous privilege to be able to show that to the world." Film Director, Pippa Ehrlich. Here’s to congratulating #MyOctopusTeacher​ for the Oscar award win. A beautiful story of South Africa’s magical marine life and wealth of biodiversity Netflix’s #MyOctopusTeacher​ is the victor for the award under the Documentary Feature category. Bring it home to South Africa, the country you so brilliantly showcase! # ShareSouthAfrica #FalseBay Learn more about this beautiful destination at www.southafrica.net