It was 2 am in Cape Town where Indian environmental journalist Swati Thiyagarajan lives with filmmaker-husband Craig Foster when the win was announced. “We created quite a racket. I bet all our neighbours woke up,” laughs Thiyagarajan, as we get on a call with her, hours after My Octopus Teacher won the Best Documentary Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards. While Foster served as a producer, Thiyagarajan — who has previously authored Born Wild: Journey into the Wild Hearts of India and Africa — was the production manager on the project helmed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. “In the run-up to the Oscars, we didn’t feature on anyone’s predictions. The fact that we were nominated stunned us silly. We weren’t arrogant enough to presume a win. It was a local story, but when the film [was acquired by] Netflix, [it caught] the world’s attention,” she says.

Directors Ehrlich and Reed at the Oscars. Pic/AFP