The Cove Director Gives Free DVDs To All Taiji, Japan Residents
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California 
on 03. 2.11
Photo by J D Ebberly via Flickr Creative Commons
The Cove, a documentary about the dolphin hunts that take place in Taiji, Japan every year, is a hot topic in the town. The creators nearly had to cancel a showing of the film last year in some cities because of protests. But it seems that no amount of hassle will deter them from their major goal -- to create enough awareness about dolphin hunting to stop it altogether. For them, that starts with Taiji. They're making sure every single resident sees the film, including sending a free DVD to each house.
HuffPo Green reports that The Cove director Louie Psihoyos sent the free DVDs after the film was finally dubbed in Japanese, with the copies arriving over the weekend to every household (including city hall) thanks to help from a local group called People Concerned for the Ocean.
"The people in Taiji deserve to know what millions of others around the world have learned about their town," Psihoyos told the Associated Press.
While true, it might not go over well. Much of Japan defends the practice as part of their culture. The creators of the documentary want to educate people about their food as well as save dolphins -- a species so intelligent, conservationists believe they should be granted non-human person status -- from the terror of the annual hunt.
"I hope the people of Taiji feel a sense of relief when they see 'The Cove' because they'll realize that it is just a handful of local environmental thugs giving a whole nation a black eye, not them," Psihoyos said. "To me the film is a love letter to the people of Taiji."
Even if many residents end up tossing the DVDs, we hope they make it into the hands of enough open-minded viewers that things might change for dolphins. Either way, the creators report that the DVDs were delivered at the same time that fishermen announced they have ended dolphin hunting season a month early. The team speculates that the move is, at least in part, to hide evidence of the hunt before awareness levels go up in the town.
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'The Cove' Documentary Finally Opens in Japan Despite Protests (Video)
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