Ocean Campus Studios
Bringing ocean stories to life
Through documentaries, series, and educational films, Ocean Campus Studios brings audiences closer to real marine wildlife, conservation, and ocean learning - extending the reach of Ocean Campus beyond the places where those stories begin.
Ocean literacy through film
Ocean Campus creates opportunities for people to learn about, experience, and connect with the ocean through education, outreach, and practical learning. Ocean Campus Studios extends that work through film.
We create documentaries, series, and short films that help learners, educators, families, and ocean-curious audiences learn about marine wildlife, conservation, and the people working to protect our ocean. We share experiences that many people may never encounter firsthand - taking ocean learning beyond the Aquarium and reaching audiences wherever they are.
Our growing collection is freely available on YouTube, taking Ocean Campus learning beyond the Aquarium and into classrooms, homes, and communities.
Featured stories
Wild Waterfront
Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront is one of South Africa’s busiest urban spaces. It is also home to an extraordinary variety of marine wildlife.
Wild Waterfront follows the people working where city life and wildlife meet, offering a closer look at seals, seabirds, sunfish, and Cape clawless otters, as well as the challenges of sharing an urban environment with wildlife. The film explores what coexistence looks like in practice and introduces some of the people working every day to understand and protect these animals.
Recognition: Gold - International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2026
Project acknowledgement: Made possible with support and funding from Film Cape Town.
By Die Soutwater
By Die Soutwater explores the relationship between people and marine wildlife along Cape Town’s urban coastline.
Through intimate encounters with animals and the people working to protect them, the film invites audiences to look differently at familiar spaces and consider what it means to share our city with wildlife.
Recognition: Silver - International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2025
SIMA 2025 finalist
Raggies: A Shark Release
Raggies: A Shark Release follows the preparation and release of a ragged-tooth shark back into the wild, revealing the science, care, and coordination behind giving the shark the best possible chance of returning successfully to its natural environment.
Through firsthand insight from the people who work with these incredible animals, Raggies challenges common misconceptions and reveals a quieter, more mesmerizing truth: sharks are not mindless killers, but complex, vulnerable animals deserving of care, protection, and understanding.
Recognition: Silver - International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2026
Project acknowledgement: A Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation production in association with Shark Conservation and Research (SCAR).
Be the Tide
Be the Tide encourages audiences to think about their relationship with the ocean, drawing on ocean literacy principles to encourage reflection on the role everyone can play in its future.
Through accessible and engaging storytelling, the programme creates opportunities to learn more about the marine environment and the choices that can help protect it.
Recognition: SAFTA nominee - Best Educational Programme
Turtle TV
Every rescued turtle has a story.
Turtle TV takes audiences behind the scenes of turtle rescue, rehabilitation, research, and release, following individual animals while introducing the people and expertise involved in helping them return to the ocean.
Project acknowledgement: This featured chapter was created for FNB.
SEA the Aquarium
Ocean learning can begin at any age.
SEA the Aquarium introduces younger audiences to the marine world through engaging, age-appropriate storytelling designed to make learning about the ocean exciting, memorable, and fun. The programme forms part of Ocean Campus’s wider commitment to nurturing curiosity and connection with the ocean from an early age.
Project acknowledgement: The pilot was funded by the Development Bank of Southern Africa via Food & Trees for Africa NPC.
Video resources
Explore themed collections from Ocean Campus Studios, created to support learning in classrooms, at home, and wherever curiosity about the ocean begins. Browse full playlists covering general ocean education, Foundation Phase learning, documentaries, and puppet shows for younger audiences.
Education
Documentaries
Conservation
Puppet Shows
Close to the work. Close to the story.
What makes Ocean Campus Studios distinctive is our proximity to the work we document.
We are part of the same Aquarium community as the educators, animal carers, conservationists, researchers, and wildlife teams whose stories appear on screen. Many of our films begin with real events as they happen: A rescued animal arriving for care, wildlife appearing somewhere unexpected, a release being planned, or a conservation challenge unfolding.
Being close to this work allows Ocean Campus Studios to capture stories that are difficult to recreate and impossible to script - storytelling grounded in real experience, real expertise, and a genuine connection with the ocean.
Recognised storytelling
Our films are created to connect people with the ocean. We are proud when those stories are also recognised by the wider film and television community.
- Wild Waterfront - Gold, International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2026
- Raggies: A Shark Release - Silver, International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2026
- By Die Soutwater - Silver, International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2025
- By Die Soutwater - SIMA 2025 finalist
- Be the Tide - SAFTA nominee, Best Educational Programme
Explore Ocean Campus
Ocean Campus Studios is one part of a much broader ocean learning journey.
Across Ocean Campus, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation creates opportunities for learners, teachers, families, and people curious about the ocean to explore the marine world through education, outreach, courses, and hands-on experiences.
A film might introduce an animal. An encounter might inspire a question. A question might lead to deeper learning. However the journey begins, there is always more to discover.