How to Deal With a Shark (and Other Wildlife Lessons), with Pippa Ehrlich

Even people who are uncomfortable getting in above their waist can be transformed by the ocean. But most of us connect with being on the water, not under it. What lies beneath our oceans is closer to another planet than anything on land, and the intrepid few who feel at home in this alien world are more like astronauts than typical outdoors folk. Filmmaker and diver Pippa Ehrlich is one of these astronauts. Pippa is the co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher,” which explores the unique relationship between an octopus and a free diver. The film was a natural extension of a life lived largely underwater—scuba and freediving have defined her adult life, and inspired her to explore the human/wildlife connection through other films like the more recent “Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey.” Above water or below it, Pippa’s a keen observer of our outdoor environments, the creatures we share them with, and how all three things intersect in beautiful and surprising ways. And, if you don’t believe, just ask her about the baboon who stole her phone.