[imagesource: Chris Pizzello/AFP]

What a lovely way to wake up on a Monday morning.

Some of you might have set the alarm to watch the Oscars live, and kudos to you.

For the rest of South Africa, it was a case of waking up to the news that My Octopus Teacher won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, which is an incredible accomplishment given the calibre of the nominees it was up against.

Sadly, the official Oscars YouTube channel hasn’t made the video of the moment directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed accepted the award available to those of us in South Africa:

#Oscars Moment: @PippaEhrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster accept the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature: My Octopus Teacher pic.twitter.com/a1INlTEYpX

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) April 26, 2021

Instead, we will have to make do with some YouTube videos of a lesser quality, which may well end up being taken down at some stage.

Before that happens, here’s the moment the announcement was made, and the acceptance speech from Pippa and James:

Nailed it.

I guess that’s what happens when you’ve become used to winning, with the doccie claiming more than 20 international awards, including a BAFTA.

Here’s another video, in case the above is taken down:

It’s worth noting that My Octopus Teacher is the first nature documentary to win an Oscar since The Cove back in 2010.

More quotes, via Business Day:

 [Pippa] she is “utterly overwhelmed” with “an honour we never dreamed possible”.

“In many ways this is a tiny personal story that played out in sea forest at the very tip of Africa, but on a more universal level I hope it provided a glimpse of a different type of relationship between human beings and the natural world.”

…“In a difficult year, when many of us were stuck inside, feeling afraid and confused, a positive story that transports you to a magical world has a powerful appeal. Parts of this story are universal to almost every person on Earth — love and friendship, and connection and hope,” Ehrlich said.

“It’s about nature, but it’s also a very powerful, archetypal story that helps us make sense of the world.”

Craig Foster also spoke about the joy of winning the Oscar, and why it’s so important to ensure the survival of this amazing ocean ecosystem:

Backstage, Pippa and James also fielded questions from the media following the win:

All in all, an extraordinary achievement.

What a fantastic start to the week, and a huge congrats to everyone involved in making this beautiful film.

[source:busday]