A Tyne Valley director is celebrating after winning Best Documentary at the 93rd Academy Awards in Los Angeles last night.
James Reed, a former student at Prudhoe Community High School, won the Oscar for nature documentary My Octopus Teacher.
Co-directed with Pippa Ehrlich, the documentary tells the story of free-diver Craig Foster who bonds with an octopus while exploring the kelp forests off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa. The documentary rose above the competition of ‘Collective’, ‘Time’, ‘Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution’, and ‘The Mole Agent’ to pick up the prestigious award.
The Oscar follows on from last week’s Best Documentary BAFTA win, as well as a slew of festival and critics’ awards.
James left Prudhoe Community High School in 1997 and went onto study Zoology at Leeds University. On Thursday night, while isolating in his hotel room in Los Angeles, he gave a Q and A to the school’s current media students.
My Octopus Teacher is available to watch on Netflix.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here