:The Cove (film)

The film follows former-dolphin-trainer-turned-activist Ric O'Barry's quest to document the dolphin hunting operations in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. In the 1960s, O'Barry helped capture and train the five wild dolphins who shared the role of "Flipper" in the hit television series of the same name. The show fueled widespread public adoration of dolphins and influenced the development of marine parks that included dolphins among their attractions. According to O'Barry, one of the dolphins committed a form of suicide in his arms by closing her blowhole voluntarily in order to suffocate, after which he came to see the dolphin's captivity and the dolphin capture industry as cruel and inhumane. Days later, he was arrested off the island of Bimini for attempting to cut a hole in a sea pen in order to set free a captured dolphin.{{cite web|url=http://www.savejapandolphins.org/educate.php |title=SaveJapanDolphins.org |publisher=SaveJapanDolphins.org |access-date=April 23, 2010}} Since then, according to the film, O'Barry has dedicated himself full-time as an advocate on behalf of dolphins around the world.

After meeting with O'Barry, Psihoyos and his crew travel to Taiji, Japan, a town that appears to be devoted to dolphins and whales. A group of local fishermen engage in dolphin drive hunting and generate tremendous revenues for the town by selling trapped dolphins to aquariums and marine parks around the world, with a premium paid for female bottlenose dolphins. In an isolated cove surrounded by wire fences and "Keep Out" signs, however, an activity takes place that the townspeople attempt to hide from the public. The dolphins that are not sold are driven into the cove and killed, with only modest income derived from the sale of the meat to supermarkets throughout Japan. According to the evidence presented in the film, the local government officials are involved in helping to hide the slaughter, and the Japanese public is largely unaware of the hunt and the marketing of dolphin meat, which the film states contains dangerously high levels of mercury. Two Taiji city councilors are interviewed who have advocated for the removal of dolphin meat from local school lunches due concerns about mercury.

All activists who attempt to view or film the dolphin killing in the cove are physically prevented from doing so by the fishermen, with the support of the local police and government, and the filmmakers are shadowed and questioned by the authorities. Faced with this, Psihoyos, O'Barry, and the crew utilize special tactics and technology to covertly film what is taking place in the cove.{{cite web|url=http://www.thecovemovie.com/the_team/the-team.htm |title=TheCoveMovie.com |publisher=TheCoveMovie.com |access-date=April 23, 2010}} Near the end of the film, Psihoyos shows some of the grisly footage he was able to film during a dolphin slaughter to a Japanese official, who had repeatedly tried to minimize the incident during his interview. The official's friendly demeanor hardens, and he asks Psihoyos when and where the footage was filmed.

The film also reports on Japan's alleged "buying" of the votes of poor nations in the International Whaling Commission, stating that, while Dominica has withdrawn from the IWC, Japan has recruited the following nations to its whaling agenda: Cambodia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Laos, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|This is not entirely accurate, however, as Ecuador has been a strong opponent of whaling.{{cite web|url=http://www.mmrree.gob.ec/2011/bol147.asp|title=Ecuador ECUADOR PROPONE PONER FIN A LA "CAZA CIENTÍFICA" QUE JAPÓN REALIZARÁ EN SANTUARIO AUSTRAL |publisher=Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Ecuador|date=February 17, 2011 |access-date=September 21, 2010}}}}{{cite web |url=http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/editorial-100811-1.html |title=Ecuador has not joined the pro-whaling block in the IWC |publisher=Sea Shepherd |date=August 11, 2010 |access-date=September 21, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101018145702/http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/editorial-100811-1.html |archive-date=October 18, 2010 |df=mdy-all }} After Psihoyos shows the footage to the Japanese official, the film cuts to O'Barry interrupting the annual meeting of the IWC. As the Japanese delegate is saying how Japanese fishermen have made their whaling tactics more humane, O'Barry enters the crowded meeting room with a TV playing the footage from the cove strapped to his chest and walks around until he is escorted from the building.

File:Ric O'Barry at the Cove in Taiji, Japan 2014.jpg at the Cove in Taiji, Japan, in 2014]]

{{quote box||quoted = 1 |width=20% |quote=Today they would kill me, if they could. And I'm not exaggerating. If these fisherman could catch me and kill me, they would. |author=―Ric O'Barry |source=In the first five minutes of the film.}}

{{Div col|colwidth=35em}}

• Ric O'Barry – Co-Founder, Oceanic Preservation Society
• Louie Psihoyos – Earth Island Institute
• Hardy Jones – Founder, BlueVoice.org
• Michael Illiff – Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, University of Tasmania
• Joji Morishita – IWC Delegate for Japan (archival footage)
• Ian Campbell – Former Australian Cabinet Minister
• Captain Paul Watson – President, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society; Co-Founder, Greenpeace
• Doug DeMaster, Ph.D. – U.S. Deputy Commissioner for the IWC
• Frederic Briand, Ph.D. - IWC Commissioner for Monaco
• Dave Rastovich – Co-Founder, Surfers for Cetaceans
• Hayden Panettiere – Whaleman Foundation/Save the Whales Again! (archival footage)
• Isabel Lucas – Whaleman Foundation/Save the Whales Again! (archival footage)
• Hannah Fraser (archival footage)
• Charles Hambleton – a member of Louie's "secret OPS" team ("a guy that has a heart of gold and nerves of steel")
• Simon Hutchins – a member of Louie's "secret OPS" team ("the only guy that had military experience")
• Joe Chisholm – a member of Louie's "secret OPS" team ("organized rock concerts")
• Mandy-Rae Cruickshank – a member of Louie's "secret OPS" team (a freediver)
• Kirk Krack – a member of Louie's "secret OPS" team (a freediver)
• Roger Payne, Ph.D. – Ocean Alliance
• Hideki Moronuki – Deputy Director, Fisheries Agency of Japan; Manager of Cetacean Quotas
• Dan Goodman – Legal Advisor to Japan's IWC Delegation
• Tetsuya Endo, Ph.D. – Health Sciences University of Hokkaido
• C. Scott Baker, Ph.D.{{cite web|url=http://mmi.oregonstate.edu/c-scott-baker |title=Scott Baker | Marine Mammal Institute |publisher=Mmi.oregonstate.edu |access-date=April 23, 2010}} – Specialist in DNA Species Identification; Oregon State University
• Brook Aitken – OPS Cameraman
• Dr. John Potter – Underwater Acoustics Cousultant
• John Fuller – Former IWC Delegate for Antigua and Barbuda
• Atherton Martin – Former IWC Representative for Dominica

{{Div col end}}

To film in the cove, the filmmakers used specialized high-definition cameras that were camouflaged to look like rocks. These cameras were so well hidden that, according to director Louie Psihoyos, the crew had a hard time finding them again.[https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/covetech/ Wired.com], How Filmmakers Used Spy Tech to Catch Dolphin Slaughter, August 20, 2009 A high-grade military thermal camera and different night vision cameras were also used in the production of the film.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/19/the-cove-interview|title=The Cove's Louie Psihoyos: 'We weren't just thinking outside of the box. We didn't know there was a box'|last=Doran|first=James|date=2009-10-19|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-10-25|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

The film received predominantly positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has 95% approval rating based on reviews from 133 critics, with an average rating of 8.00/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Though decidedly one-sided, The Cove is an impeccably crafted, suspenseful exposé of the covert slaughter of dolphins in Japan."{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1208882-cove/ |title=The Cove Movie Reviews, Pictures |access-date=12 August 2015 |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc}} On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has an average score of 84 based on 26 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/cove |title=Cove, The reviews at Metacritic.com |work=Metacritic |publisher=CNET Networks, Inc |access-date=November 24, 2009 }}

Roger Ebert gave the film four stars (out of four), calling it "a certain Oscar nominee".[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090805/REVIEWS/908059989 The Cove] RogerEbert.com Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called the film "an exceptionally well-made documentary that unfolds like a spy thriller", going on to describe it as "one of the most audacious and perilous operations in the history of the conservation movement".{{cite web |last=Catsoulis |first=Jeannette |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/movies/31cove.html |title=Movie Review - The Cove - From Flipper's Trainer to Dolphin Defender |publisher=Movies.nytimes.com |date=July 31, 2009 |access-date=August 28, 2009}} Other reviewers also played up the espionage angle of the film, including Time magazine's Mary Pols, who said The Cove "puts Hollywood capers like Mission Impossible to shame",{{cite magazine|last=Pols |first=Mary |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1913757,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802110322/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1913757,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 2, 2009 |title=Documentary Review: The Cove |magazine=TIME |date=August 10, 2009 |access-date=August 28, 2009}} and Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor, who called it "a rousing piece of real-world thriller filmmaking".{{cite web|last=Rainer |first=Peter |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0807/p17s13-almo.html |title=Review: 'The Cove' |publisher=csmonitor.com |date=August 7, 2009 |access-date=August 28, 2009}}

Some reviews recognized the film's entertainment value, but did not view it as an "objective documentary".{{cite news|last=Kennicott |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Kennicott |title=Mini Movie Review: 'The Cove' |newspaper=Washington Post |date= August 7, 2009 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/06/AR2009080601038.html}} Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern labeled the film a "quasidocumentary framed as a high-tech thriller" with an "agitprop style" that has "an excess of artifice and a dearth of facts".{{citation|last=Morgenstern |first=Joe |title='Funny People': Sick Comic, Bleak Prognosis: 'The Cove' is riveting account of dolphin killing, but factuality evades its nets |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=July 31, 2009 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204619004574320194134539128 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325230203/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204619004574320194134539128 |archive-date=March 25, 2015}} David Cox of The Guardian Film Blog called it a "piece of evangelism", and mused rhetorically: "Westerners ... kill and eat cows. Easterners eat dolphins. What's the difference?".{{cite web|last=Cox |first=David |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2009/oct/26/the-cove-documentary |title=The Cove's message is gruesome but facile |work=The Guardian |date=October 26, 2009 |access-date=April 23, 2010}} Michelle Orange of Movieline ended her review: "How much of this should we believe? As a piece of propaganda, The Cove is brilliant; as a story of ingenuity and triumph over what seems like senseless brutality, it is exceptionally well-told; but as a conscientious overview of a complex and deeply fraught, layered issue, it invokes the same phrase as even the most well-intentioned, impassioned activist docs: Buyer beware."{{cite web |author=Lowbrow |url=http://www.movieline.com/2009/07/in-theaters-the-cove.php |title=MovieLine.com |publisher=MovieLine.com |date=July 30, 2009 |access-date=April 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803111134/http://www.movieline.com/2009/07/in-theaters-the-cove.php |archive-date=August 3, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}

The whale and dolphin hunting season in Japan usually begins on September 1 each year, but in 2009 it began on September 9. Although activists tended to believe this was because of the publicity generated by the film,{{cite news|title=Hunters Pass On Opening Day Of Dolphin Season|date=September 5, 2009|access-date=September 7, 2009|work=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112588779}} it was reported that the delay was due to the weather and rough seas.{{cite web|url=http://www.agara.co.jp/modules/dailynews/article.php?storyid=174984 |script-title=ja:イルカとクジラ捕獲 太地の追い込み漁 |language=ja |publisher=Kii Mimpō (紀伊民報) |date=September 9, 2009 |access-date=April 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912002355/http://www.agara.co.jp/modules/dailynews/article.php?storyid=174984 |archive-date=September 12, 2009}} According to campaigners, out of the 100 dolphins captured on September 9, some were taken to be sold to marine museums and the rest were released, while 50 pilot whales were killed and sold for meat on the same day. Some campaigners began to claim it had become apparent that The Cove was having an impact on the way in which Japanese fisherman normally conducted the dolphin hunt,[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/09/conservationists-say-70-dolphins-in-japan-released.html Conservationists say 70 dolphins in Japan released.] Associated Press. September 15, 2009. though on March 23, 2010, the Japanese government stated: "The dolphin hunting is a part of traditional fishery of this country and it has been lawfully carried out."{{cite web |url=http://www.iza.ne.jp/news/newsarticle/politics/politicsit/371790/ |script-title=ja:イルカ漁は「法令に基づく伝統的漁業」 「ザ・コーブ」踏まえ政府が答弁書決定 |trans-title=Dolphin whaling is 'legally compliant traditional fishing': government decides on response in writing, in consideration 'The Cove' |language=ja |publisher=Sankei.jp.msn.com |date=March 23, 2010 |access-date=April 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803135736/http://www.iza.ne.jp/news/newsarticle/politics/politicsit/371790/ |archive-date=August 3, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}

After the film won the Oscar for Best Documentary, the mayor of Taiji and the chief of the Taiji Fishery Union released a statement that said: "The hunt is performed legally and properly with the permission of Wakayama Prefecture [in which Taiji resides]." Taiji assemblyman Hisato Ryono, one of the two local legislators who broke ranks and publicly called for removal of dolphin meat from school lunches, said he was lied to by the producers of the film about what the film would contain.{{Refn|Professor Endo is also named (in the Jay Alabaster article) as an individual who complained that the film's makers approached him under false pretenses. But he teaches at a university in Hokkaido, not Taiji.}}{{cite news|last=Harnell |first=Boyd |title=Taiji officials: Dolphin meat 'toxic waste' Assembly pair break taboo, warn of acute mercury risk in school lunches |date=August 1, 2007 |newspaper=The Japan Times |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fe20070801a1.html}}Alabaster, Jay, (Associated Press), "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100310a4.html Cove Oscar Won't End Taiji Dolphin Kill]", Japan Times, March 20, 2010, p. 2.

Since the release of the film, a much larger number of activists, mainly non-Japanese, began to visit Taiji to protest or film the dolphin hunts. The Taiji fishermen responded by constructing an elaborate structure of tarps to better conceal the drive-hunting activities in and around the cove.{{cite news|last=Alabaster |first=Jay |title=Activists may shift tactics in Taiji; Sigh of relief |agency=Associated Press and Kyodo News |newspaper=Japan Times |date=March 3, 2011}} Filmmaker Megumi Sasaki has argued that the film and subsequent activism and campaigning by foreigners and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have been poorly received by the population of Taiji, and that backlash has resulted in the practice continuing.{{Cite web|date=2018-08-14|title=Beyond The Cove: what happened after the Oscar-winning documentary?|url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/14/the-cove-a-whale-of-a-tale-documentary-taiji|access-date=2021-03-29|website=the Guardian|language=en}}

SeaWorld spokesperson Fred Jacobs responded to the film by saying, "We think we're being unfairly criticized for something we're opposed to,"{{Citation|last=Mieszkowski |first=Katharine |title=Dolphins Are Dying to Amuse Us |newspaper=Salon |date=August 7, 2009 |url=http://www.salon.com/news/environment/feature/2009/08/07/the_cove_dolphins |access-date=June 7, 2011}} and that "SeaWorld opposes the dolphin hunts documented in The Cove. We do not purchase any animals from these hunts. More than 80 percent of the marine mammals in our care were born in our parks. We haven't collected a dolphin from the wild in decades",{{citation|title=The Cove's Shocking Discovery |newspaper=The Oprah Winfrey Show |date=April 22, 2010 |url=http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Filmmakers-Reveal-Dolphin-Slaughter-in-The-Cove/5 |access-date=June 7, 2011}} though he did not condemn those who purchase from the Taiji dolphin hunt.{{Citation |last=Alexander |first=Brian |title=Dolphin hunt film sparks dilemma for tourists |publisher=NBC News |date=August 6, 2009 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32274599 |access-date=January 9, 2012}} In light of this, some criticized O'Barry for emphasizing that dolphinariums are a large contributing factor to the economic success of the dolphin hunt in Taiji and for encouraging boycotts of dolphin shows to protest the slaughter.

In the United States, it is currently illegal to import dolphins obtained from a drive, including the drive hunt at Taiji, as it is considered an inhumane method by which to capture the animals, and, since 1993, there have been no permits issued to facilities in the United States to import dolphins acquired through drive hunts.{{cite web |last=Rose |first=Naomi A. |others=E.C.M. Parsons, and Richard Farinato |title=The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity |publisher=The Humane Society of the United States and the World Society for the Protection of Animals |year=2009 |url=http://www.wspa-international.org/Images/159_the_case_against_marine_mammals_in_captivity_english_2009_tcm25-8409.pdf |access-date=June 7, 2011}} Marilee Menard, the executive director of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, has also stated that she believes the filmmakers are "misrepresenting that the majority of zoos and aquariums with dolphins around the world are taking these animals."

In August 2009, after the screening of the film in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane film festivals, the councillors of the Shire of Broome, Western Australia, voted unanimously to suspend its sister city relationship with the Japanese whaling port town of Taiji, as long as the latter continues its dolphin slaughter.{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25623722-16947,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614172434/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25623722-16947,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2009 |title=Dolphin Kill Film to Shock Taiji Sister City Broome |publisher=The Australian |access-date=April 23, 2010}}{{cite web |author=Debbie Guest |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25969585-2702,00.html |title=Broome Suspends Sister City Relationship with Taiji Over Dolphin Slaughter |publisher=The Australian |date=2009-08-23 |access-date=2010-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827023826/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25969585-2702,00.html |archive-date=August 27, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://www.news.janjan.jp/culture/0908/0908259279/1.php |script-title=ja:太地のイルカ漁描く映画「The Cove」日本公開を期待 |trans-title=Film 'The Cove' depicting dolphin hunt in Taiji: theater release in Japan anticipated |language=ja |publisher=News.janjan.jp |date=August 27, 2009 |access-date=April 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107171446/http://www.news.janjan.jp/culture/0908/0908259279/1.php |archive-date=January 7, 2010 |df=mdy-all }} This decision was reversed that October, less than two months later.{{cite news|title=Australian Town Embraces Taiji Again|date=October 15, 2009|access-date=October 28, 2009|work=The Japan Times |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/10/15/national/australian-town-embraces-taiji-again/#.WTjhrBOGNYg}}

The film was initially screened only at two small venues in Japan: at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo in September 2009, and at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2009, where it received mixed reviews.{{cite news|title=Film on the Dolphin Hunt Stirs Outrage in Japan |first=Hiroko |last=Tabuchi |author-link=Hiroko Tabuchi |date=October 22, 2009 |access-date=February 9, 2010 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/world/asia/23dolphin.html}}{{cite news|url=http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/right-wingers-vow-to-block-release-of-the-cove-in-japan|title=Right-wingers vow to block release of 'The Cove' in Japan |agency=Associated Press |date=2010-04-10 |access-date=2010-04-10}} A Japanese film distributor, Medallion Media/Unplugged, subsequently acquired the rights to screen the film in Japan and hoped to release it in Japanese cinemas in June 2010.{{cite news|last=Matsutani |first=Minoru |title=Distributor Hopes to Screen The Cove Soon |newspaper=Japan Times |date=February 13, 2009}} The company prepared the film for presentation in Japan by pixelating the faces of Taiji residents and fishermen depicted in the film.{{cite news |last=Matsutani |first=Minoru |title=Cove Oscar is Taiji's Chagrin |newspaper=Japan Times |date=March 9, 2010 |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100309a2.html }} (In Japanese: [http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news/20100308k0000e040066000c.html アカデミー賞：「ザ・コーヴ」受賞に和歌山反発] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311212445/http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news/20100308k0000e040066000c.html |date=March 11, 2010 }}.) Nationalist protesters vowed to block the release of the film in Japan, and dozens equipped with loudspeakers demonstrated outside the distributor's office in central Tokyo.{{cite news |author= |agency=Associated Press |title='Cove' director reacts to base ban |newspaper=Japan Times |date=April 23, 2010 |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100423b1.html}}

In April 2010, Colonel Frank Eppich, the United States Air Force commander of Yokota Air Base, located near Tokyo, banned screenings of the film at the base theater. A base spokesman said that The Cove was banned because using a base venue to display the film could be seen as an endorsement of the film, saying: "We have a lot of issues with Japan ... and anything done on an American base would be seen as an approval of that event."{{cite news |last=Harnell |first=Boyd |title=Yokota base bans 'Cove' to be neutral |newspaper=Japan Times |date=April 13, 2010 |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/04/13/national/yokota-base-bans-cove-to-be-neutral}} In response, Louie Psihoyos said he would give 100 DVD copies of the film to Yokota base personnel.

Until June 2010, the controversy over the film and the film's subject received little press attention in Japanese-language media in Japan. Boyd Harnell of the Japan Times stated on May 23, 2010, that Japanese news editors had told him the topic was "too sensitive" for them to cover.{{cite news |last=Harnell |first=Boyd |title=Experts fear Taiji mercury tests are fatally flawed |newspaper=Japan Times |date=May 23, 2010 |page=12}}

A screening scheduled for June 26, 2010, at Theater N in Shibuya was canceled after staff were harassed by protesters. Unplugged stated that it was in negotiations with other theaters to screen the film.{{cite news |author= |agency=Agence France-Presse |title=Japan screens controversial film |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=June 4, 2010}} Another theater in Tokyo and one in Osaka subsequently declined to screen the film. In response, a group of 61 media figures, including journalist Akihiro Ōtani and filmmaker Yoichi Sai, released a statement expressing concern over the threat to freedom of speech by the intimidation by right-wing groups.{{cite news |author= |agency=Kyodo News |title='Cove' censure threatens free speech: writers, filmmakers |newspaper=Japan Times |date=June 9, 2010 |page=3}} The Directors Guild of Japan also asked theaters not to refuse to show the film, arguing that "such moves would limit opportunities to express thoughts and beliefs, which are the core of democracy."{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-bassett/the-cove-opens-in-tokyo-w_b_635955.html|title=The Cove Opens in Tokyo With Clash From Protesters|last=Bassett|first=Deborah|date=July 6, 2010|newspaper=Huffington Post|access-date=January 6, 2011}}

On June 9, 2010, Tsukuru Publishing Co. sponsored a screening of the film and panel discussion at Nakano Zero theater in Nakano, Tokyo. The panelists included five who had signed the statement mentioned above. Afterwards, panel member Kunio Suzuki, former head of Issuikai, an Uyoku dantai (rightist) group, condemned the right-winger's threats against theaters and urged that the film be shown, saying that "Not letting people watch the movie is anti-Japanese".{{cite news|last=Matsutani |first=Minoru |title=Rightist also tells theaters to run 'Cove' |newspaper=Japan Times |date=June 11, 2010 |page=2}}

In response to the cancellation of screenings of the film in Japan, Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga screened the film free on June 18, 2010. The same week, Ric O'Barry was invited to speak at several universities in Japan about the film. O'Barry stated that he was planning on bringing several Hollywood stars to Taiji in September 2010 in an attempt to halt that year's hunt.{{cite news |author= |agency=Associated Press |title=Nico Nico Doga plans to stream 'Cove' for free|newspaper=Japan Times |date=June 17, 2010 |page=2}}

On July 3, 2010, six theaters in Sendai, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hachinohe began screening the film. Right-wing nationalists protested outside four of the theaters (the theaters in Tokyo and Yokohama had obtained court injunctions prohibiting protests outside their venues), but close police supervision prevented any disruption to the viewing schedules and ensured free access for viewers to the theaters.{{cite news |author= |agency=Kyodo News |title=Public screenings of 'The Cove' begin |newspaper=Japan Times |date=July 4, 2010}}

A local Taiji activist group called People Concerned for the Ocean announced that, on March 5 and 6, 2011, they would distribute DVDs of the film, dubbed in Japanese, to all 3,500 residents of Taiji.{{cite news|last=Matsutani |first=Minoru |title=Activists to give Taiji residents free 'Cove' DVD |newspaper=Japan Times |date=March 1, 2011 |page=2}}

There has been some controversy over the depiction of some of the Japanese people in the film. Hirotaka Akamatsu, Japanese Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, said: "it is regrettable that this movie is made as a message that brutal Japanese are killing cute dolphins".{{cite web|url=http://www.maff.go.jp/j/press-conf/min/100309.html |title=農林水産省/赤松農林水産大臣記者会見概要 |trans-title=MAFF/Agriculture Minister Akamatsu's press conference (summary) |publisher=Maff.go.jp |access-date=April 23, 2010}} However, director Louie Psihoyos spoke of his sympathy for the Japanese people, many of whom are unaware of the situation at the cove, saying: "To me, it's a love letter. I'm giving you the information your government won't give you."{{cite news |author= |agency=Associated Press |title=Japan defends dolphin hunt in Oscar-winning 'Cove' |date=March 8, 2010 |publisher=CTV News |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/japan-defends-dolphin-hunt-in-oscar-winning-cove-1.489894}}

Close-up Gendai, an investigative journalism program on NHK, ran a segment that raised questions about the objectivity of the film. One scene in the film was presented as having been manufactured for the camera, and the segment then entered into a discussion with a commentator on whether the film should properly be called a documentary.{{cite AV media |last=Kuniya |first=Hiroko |author-link=Hiroko Kuniya |magazine=Close-up Gendai |type=television production |script-title=ja:問われる表現 イルカ漁映画 |trans-title=Dolphin hunt film: its approach to expression being questioned |language=ja |institution=NHK |date=2010-07-06 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=144BuVw8N2I}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}} Louie Psihoyos was interviewed by Close-up Gendai, but no response was broadcast regarding the allegedly scripted and acted scene. Elsewhere, he stated categorically that none of the scenes in the film were staged.{{cite news|title=Unfazed by 'The Cove,' Taiji's Fishermen Prepare to Resume Dolphin Hunt |magazine=Bloomberg Businessweek |date=August 27, 2010 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-27/taiji-s-fishermen-prepare-to-resume-dolphin-hunt-shrugging-off-the-cove-.html }}; [http://www.twincities.com/2010/08/28/unfazed-by-the-cove-taiji-fishermen-ready-for-dolphin-hunt/ reprinted] in Pioneer Press, August 28, 2010

Fishermen in Taiji complained that the film one-sidedly depicted their angry reactions at being chased by cameras, and did not adequately explain the backdrop—that they had been harassed by activists from organizations such as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and individuals attracted by the bounty offered by that organization for capturing damaging footage. The NHK (not on Close-up Gendai) concluded that the activists did so in order to capture the local fishermen making angry and wild expressions on film and in photos.{{efn|A different program broadcast a year after the Close-up Gendai segment featured footage of the activists irritating local people by saying nasty words in both Japanese and English and shoving cameras in their faces.}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nhk.or.jp/special/onair/110522.html|script-title=ja:クジラと生きる |trans-title=Living with Whales |language=ja |date=May 22, 2011}}

Tetsuya Endō, an associate professor at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido who is interviewed in the film, complained that the filmmakers approached him under false pretenses. He also said the sample of meat in the film that contained an anomalously high level of mercury (2000 ppm) was dolphin liver,{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The subtitle in the film read: "This is dolphin meat. This is containing 2000ppm".{{cite web|author=ewolfhughes |url=https://foodandfoodiesinjapan.wordpress.com/category/the-cove-2 |title=The Cove-A Real Life Heist Movie |date=December 14, 2013 |publisher=UCLA}} (for undergraduate course)}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Endo's findings on the 2000 ppm liver can be confirmed in a report for fiscal purpose, which also cites publication in a peer-reviewed journal.{{citation|last=Endo |first=Tetsuya (遠藤 哲也) |script-title=ja:市販鯨肉の水銀汚染と安全性 |trans-title=Market-sol whale meat mercury contamination and safety |year=2004 |url=https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/report/KAKENHI-PROJECT-14572112/145721122004kenkyu_seika_hokoku_gaiyo/ }}Endo et al. (2002), Science of the Total Environment, [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697/300 300], pp.  15-22}} which Taiji's fishermen's union banned from being sold in 2003 at his prompting.{{cite news|last=Powell |first=Bill |title=A Social Media Storm Descends on Taiji, the Japanese Town at the Center of a Dolphin Slaughter |date=March 27, 2014 |url=http://mag.newsweek.com/2014/04/04/social-media-storm-descends-taiji-japanese-town.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140328110003/http://mag.newsweek.com/2014/04/04/social-media-storm-descends-taiji-japanese-town.html |archive-date=March 28, 2014}} Endo sought to have his scenes removed from the film and, when they were not, sued the Japanese rights-holder, Medallion Media, and the distributor, Unplugged, for ¥11 million for damages to his reputation. The litigation opened in Tokyo District Court on December 1, 2010.Kyodo News, "Professor in 'Cove' sues film firms over arbitrary editing", Japan Times, December 2, 2010.

At the end of the film, the assistant chief of the whaling division at Japan's Fisheries Agency, Hideki Moronuki, is erroneously said to have been "fired" in 2008. The error was reported by the investigative news program Close-up Gendai, and Psihoyos, when confronted, conceded he might have misunderstood.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Psihoyos, in a video-conference interview with Close-up Gendai, attributed the information to Akira Nakamae, the Deputy Minister of Fisheries, whom he met on an airplane bound for Santiago, where the 2008 IWC meeting was being held. Psihoyos conceded he may have misunderstood, and what was actually said might have been that he was "moved" (at around 20:00 minutes into the program). Nakamae, when contacted by NHK, stated he "never gave the reply that [Moronuki] was fired" (at around 22:00 minutes).}}[http://www.cchange.net/?powerpress_pinw=3137-podcast Sea Change Radio] (Interview with Psihoyos)

In 2015, filmmaker {{illm|Keiko Yagi|ja|八木景子}} released a documentary titled Behind The Cove, which presented the side of the Taiji fishermen. The film was screened at the Montreal World Film Festival.Kyodo News, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/09/08/films/film-supportive-dolphin-drive-hunts-draws-mixed-reaction-montreal/ Film supportive of dolphin drive hunts draws mixed reaction in Montreal]", Japan Times, 8 September 2015Gilhooly, Rob, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/09/19/lifestyle/taiji-drops-anchor-dolphin-hunts-despite-increasing-pressure/#.Vf_1cM7os5t Taiji drops anchor on dolphin hunts despite increasing pressure]", Japan Times, 20 September 2015

In 2018, filmmaker Megumi Sasaki released a follow-up film examining the legacy of The Cove, titled A Whale of a Tale. The film examines the cultural divide between Western activists, who have continued to travel to Japan to protest the Taiji dolphin drive hunt for many years after the film's release, and the local population. It argues that dolphin meat consumption in Japan was already in decline, and The Cove and subsequent Western activism has been poorly received by the local population and used by Japanese nationalists to garner support to continue the practice.{{Cite news|last=Denyer|first=Simon|title=Filmmaker tries to bridge cultural divide between Japan, U.S. over whale, dolphin hunting|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/08/30/filmmaker-tries-bridge-cultural-divide-between-japan-us-over-whale-dolphin-hunting/|access-date=2021-03-29|issn=0190-8286}}

The Cove won over 25 film awards. Some notable awards include Best Documentary from the Environmental Media Awards,{{cite web |url=http://www.ema-online.org/EMA-20thAnniversaryAwards.php#winners |title=EMA – 20th Anniversary Awards |publisher=Ema-online.org |access-date=2010-04-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922235529/http://ema-online.org/EMA-20thAnniversaryAwards.php#winners |archive-date=September 22, 2009 |df=mdy-all }} three awards from the Cinema Eye Honors,{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/the_cove_tops_cinema_eye_honors/ |title='The Cove' Tops Cinema Eye Honors |date=January 16, 2010 |publisher=indieWIRE |access-date=2010-04-23}} and the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards.{{cite web|url=http://oscar.go.com/oscar-night/winners?cid=10_oscars_slideshow_winners |title=Oscar.com – Oscar Night – Winners |publisher=Oscar.go.com |access-date=2010-04-23}}

A list of nominations and awards received by the film is as follows:

• 82nd Academy Awards (2010) – Best Documentary Feature (won)[http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html "Nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411210003/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html |date=2010-04-11 }}. Retrieved February 11, 2010. During the presentation ceremony, on March 7, 2010, ABC cameras abruptly cut away to the crowd when O'Barry raised a banner urging the audience to "Text DOLPHIN to 44144".[http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/416343_tvgif7.html TV Guide, "11 Top Oscar Moments"] March 7, 2010 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205054520/http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/416343_tvgif7.html |date=December 5, 2010 }} TV Guide labeled the moment as "Fastest Cutaway", and film critic Sean Means wrote it showed that the Oscar ceremony was "studiously devoid of genuine excitement".[http://www.sltrib.com/features/ci_14632219 The Salt Lake Tribune, "Hurt Locker Wins Top Oscar Prize"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311224142/http://www.sltrib.com/Features/ci_14632219 |date=March 11, 2010 }} March 8, 2010
• Genesis Awards (2010) – Best Documentary Feature (won)
• 62nd Writers Guild Awards (2009) – Best Documentary Feature Screenplay (February 20, 2010){{cite web|url=https://tvsourcemagazine.com/2010/02/1904-2010-writers-guild-award-winners/|title=2010 Writers Guild Award Winners|date=February 21, 2010|website=TV Source Magazine|access-date=February 20, 2019}}
• Directors Guild Awards (2009) – Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary (January 31, 2010)DGA Website:[http://www.dga.org/news/pr_expand.php3?641§ion=news&oldsection=&oldpage=#docs "Kathryn Bigelow wins DGA Feature Film Award for The Hurt Locker. Other winners of 2009 DGA Awards announced." (January 31, 2010)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203013824/http://www.dga.org/news/pr_expand.php3?641§ion=news&oldsection=&oldpage=#docs |date=February 3, 2010 }}. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
• National Board of Review – Best Documentary (December 3, 2009)[http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/ The National Board of Review Official Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612165922/http://nbrmp.org/awards/ |date=June 12, 2010 }}, December 2009
• 15th BFCA Critics' Choice Awards (2009) – Best Documentary Feature, Critics' Choice Awards in Los Angeles (January 15, 2010)The Japan Times: [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100119b4.html "'Cove' named best documentary" (January 19, 2010)]. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association – Best Documentary{{cite news |last=King |first=Susan |date=December 13, 2009 |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/awards/2009/12/la-film-critics-announce-2009-winners.html |title=L.A. Film Critics announce 2009 winners [Updated] |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}
• Toronto Film Critics Association Awards (2009) – Best Documentary Feature & Allan King Documentary Award (December 16, 2009){{cite web |url=http://torontofilmcritics.com/blog/2009/12/16/toronto-film-critics-association-awards-2009/ |title=Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2009 |publisher=torontofilmcritics.com |date=2009-12-16 |access-date=2010-04-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323084722/http://torontofilmcritics.com/blog/2009/12/16/toronto-film-critics-association-awards-2009 |archive-date=March 23, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}
• Newport Beach Film Festival (2009) – Audience Award for Best Documentary{{cite web|url=http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/#eventjump |title=Newport Beach Film Festival |publisher=Newportbeachfilmfest.com |access-date=2014-04-19}}
• New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) – Best Documentary (December 13, 2009)[http://www.indiewire.com/article/avatar_wins_with_ny_online_film_critics/ IndieWire.com], December 2009
• Sheffield Doc/Fest (2009) – The Sheffield Green Award (November 8, 2009){{cite web |url=http://www.internationalfilmguide.com/p.aspx?t=news&fn=10&mid=53 |title=Sheffield Doc/Fest Awards - Spotlight: Sheffield Doc/Fest - International Film Guide |website=www.internationalfilmguide.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713050810/http://www.internationalfilmguide.com/p.aspx?t=news&fn=10&mid=53 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}
• Cinema Eye Honors (2009) – Outstanding Achievement In Original Music Score – J. Ralph (nominated) (November 5, 2009)[http://www.indiewire.com/article/the_cove_leads_cinema_eye_honors_nominees/ IndieWire.com], November 2009

The film also was named "Best Documentary" by many critics organizations (including the Boston Society of Film Critics,{{cite web|url=http://www.thebsfc.org/CurrWin.html |title=BSFC Award Winners – Recent |publisher=Thebsfc.org |access-date=2010-04-23}} San Diego Film Critics Society,{{cite web|url=http://sdfcs.org/ |title=San Diego Film Critics Society – Movie Reviews by San Diego's Top Film Critics |publisher=Sdfcs.org |access-date=2010-04-23}} Dallas/Ft. Worth Film Critics Association,{{cite web|last=Robinson |first=Anna |url=http://www.altfg.com/blog/awards/dallas-ft-worth-film-critics-awards-2009-9894/ |title=Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Awards 2009 |publisher=Altfg.com |date=2009-12-17 |access-date=2010-04-23}} Utah Film Critics Association,{{cite web|last=Montgomery |first=Steve |url=http://www.altfg.com/blog/awards/utah-film-critics-awards-2009-774764/ |title=Utah Film Critics Awards 2009 |publisher=Altfg.com |date=2009-12-18 |access-date=2010-04-23}} Florida Film Critics Circle,{{cite web |url=http://floridafilmcriticscircle.webs.com/ |title=Florida Film Critics Circle – Home |publisher=Floridafilmcriticscircle.webs.com |access-date=2010-04-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227231113/http://floridafilmcriticscircle.webs.com/ |archive-date=December 27, 2009 |df=mdy-all }} Houston Film Critics Society,{{cite web|url=http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/12-19-09-hurt-locker-wins-top-award-from-houston-critics/ |title=The Hurt Locker wins top award from Houston film critics – 2009-Dec-19 – CultureMap Houston |publisher=Culturemap.com |access-date=2010-04-23}} and Denver Film Critics Society{{cite web |url=https://denverfilmcritics.com/2010/01/denver-film-critics-society-2009-2010-award/ |title=Denver Film Critics Society 2009–2010 Award Nominations | Denver Film Critics Society |publisher=Denverfilmcritics.com |date=2010-01-13 |access-date=2023-02-23 |df=mdy-all }}), and it was screened at film festivals and social events all around the United States. As the film received more and more recognition, the Oceanic Preservation Society translated their website into multiple languages to cater to interest from around the world.{{cite web|url=http://thecovemovie.com/chinese.htm |title=Welcome |publisher=The Cove Movie |access-date=2010-04-23}}

• Blackfish (film)
• The Whale (2011 film)
• Seaspiracy (2021 film)

{{clear}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{Cite web|title=The Cove|url=http://www.takepart.com/cove|access-date=2021-05-04|website=TakePart|language=en}}

{{Coord|33|35|55.92|N|135|56|46.86|E|region:JP_type:city|display=title}}

• [http://dolphinproject.net/ Ric O'Barry's official website ]
• [http://thecovemovie.com/ Official US website]
• {{IMDb title|1313104|The Cove}}
• {{tcmdb title|774665|The Cove}}
• {{mojo title|cove09|The Cove}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|1208882-cove|The Cove}}
• {{Metacritic film|title=The Cove}}
• Oscar-Winning Doc The Cove – video report by Democracy Now!
• The making of The Cove Director Louie Psihoyos technical interview on Momentum about the making of The Cove

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for The Cove

|list =

{{AcademyAwardBestDocumentaryFeature2001-2020}}

{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Documentary Film}}

{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film}}

{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film}}

{{Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Documentary Film}}

{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film}}

{{National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Film}}

{{Producers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Motion Picture}}

{{Sundance Audience Award Documentary}}

{{TFCA Award for Best Documentary Film}}

}}

{{Animal rights|media}}

{{Portal bar|Film|United States|Japan|Animals}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cove, The}}

Category:2009 films

Category:2009 in the environment

Category:2009 documentary films

Category:American documentary films

Category:Anti-Japanese sentiment

Category:Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners

Category:Documentary films about animal rights

Category:Documentary films about environmental issues

Category:Documentary films about ocean life

Category:Documentary films about water and the environment

Category:Environment of Japan

Category:Films about activists

Category:Films about dolphins

Category:Films set in Japan

Category:Obscenity controversies in film

Category:Animal cruelty incidents in film

Category:Fishing industry in Japan

Category:Lionsgate films

Category:Participant (company) films

Category:Roadside Attractions films

Category:Vertigo Films films

Category:Japan in non-Japanese culture

Category:Films directed by Louie Psihoyos

Category:2000s American films

Category:Sundance Film Festival award–winning films

Category:Films set in Wakayama Prefecture

Category:Films scored by J. Ralph