Pippa Ehrlich

Pippa Ehrlich is a South African Academy Award and BAFTA-winning director, filmmaker, and journalist whose work focuses on storytelling and environmental advocacy. Trained in journalism and media studies at Rhodes University, Ehrlich began her career producing investigative television pieces before moving into conservation journalism. She worked as a conservation journalist and media coordinator for the Save Our Seas Foundation, where she coached marine scientists on communication strategies and helped present their stories in accessible, visually engaging formats. This experience contributed to her transition into documentary filmmaking.

Ehrlich co-wrote, edited, and directed "My Octopus Teacher," South Africa's first Netflix Original documentary. The film documents naturalist Craig Foster's year-long relationship with a wild common octopus in the Great African Seaforest near Cape Town. "My Octopus Teacher" received critical acclaim and won more than 20 international awards, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, a BAFTA for Best Documentary, the Wildscreen Golden Panda, Jackson Wild's Grand Teton, the IDA's Pare Lorentz Award, and a Producers Guild Award. Ehrlich was also nominated for an ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Documentary Feature.

Ehrlich has continued to develop her voice in nature documentary filmmaking. She served as co-director on "My Mercury" and edited the photographic book "Sea Change: Primal Joy and the Art of Underwater Tracking," which explores seaforest life through text and imagery. She also directed "Pangolin: Kulu's Journey," which premiered at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival and was released on Netflix. The film follows South African conservationist Gareth Thomas as he rescues and rehabilitates a trafficked baby pangolin, exploring the relationship between humans and the natural world.

Throughout her career, Ehrlich has focused on translating complex conservation issues into stories that engage global audiences. Her films aim to inspire a deeper connection to nature and highlight the importance of marine conservation, biodiversity, and environmental storytelling. As a freediver with extensive experience in Cape Town's underwater forests, Ehrlich brings firsthand knowledge to her work, establishing her as a credible voice in contemporary environmental documentary filmmaking.