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How Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher, about Sea Change Project founder’s year with a wild octopus, changed a design director’s life

My Octopus Teacher follows Craig Foster as he learns how octopuses live their lives and forms a close bond with one of the eight-limbed creatures

Otto Ng, co-founder and design director of Hong Kong architectural studio LAAB, says it taught him to be humble – at work, with people and in front of nature

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South African filmmaker and Sea Change Project founder Craig Foster in a still from the Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher. Photo: Netflix

Published: 6:45pm, 26 May 2022

Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher (2020) follows South African filmmaker and Sea Change Project founder Craig Foster as he spends a year forging a close bond with a wild octopus while diving every day in a kelp forest near Cape Town, an experience that helps him appreciate the fragility of nature and the importance of connection. Otto Ng, co-founder and design director of innovative Hong Kong architectural studio LAAB, which has worked on projects including K11 Musea and Victoria Dockside, and f22 foto space, explains how it changed his life.

I stayed put most of the time that year (2020) due to the pandemic. I’m glad that we have streaming technologies. I saw the film on Netflix when it first came out. I was drawn by the title.

I like watching documentaries in general, not just about nature. For me, documentaries offer a helpful point of departure to understand the world. Not everything shown in documentaries is “reality”, of course, but I enjoy seeing how different directors construct their films to offer their versions of the truth. I like going deeper into a subject matter to gain a better understanding from different sources. I learned a lot about the intelligence of octopuses after watching My Octopus Teacher.

The documentary is beautifully executed. I was really moved by the power of nature – how we are part of nature with our own cycle of life and how serendipity brings us together. I was impressed by Craig Foster’s commitment to going to the water every day and trying to understand other species and their lives. I was also moved by the pure beauty of the relationship built upon a trust that overcomes the difference in species. It makes me think deeply about our relationships, our humanity and our civilisation. Would there still be war if we truly listened to each other and learned from each other?

Otto Ng, co-founder and design director Hong Kong architectural studio LAAB. Photo: LAAB

The documentary taught me to be humble: in front of my work, in front of people and in front of nature. One thing that really stuck with me is the trust built between Foster and the octopus. It takes a lot of humility and commitment to learn the language of another species, how they live their lives and what they are trying to do.