When Ric O’Barry was denied the right to film in Japan, to tell the world about the slaughter of thousands of innocent dolphins, he didn’t let that stop him. He kept going and moved underground-or rather, underwater. It was 41 years ago this past Earth Day that Ric experienced a life-changing moment that began his years of dedication to the cause of preserving and protecting dolphins and their habitat.
Under cover of darkness and under threat of incarceration, divers from The Oceanic Preservation Society, Louie Psihoyos (director of The Cove) and Ric, planted equipment that captured the harrowing sight and sounds of innocent dolphins being killed in alarming numbers. By planting inventively customized cameras beneath the waterline, they were able to capture footage to make the awareness-raising The Cove. This film has been seen all over the world and has affected massive changes for the better. Documentaries have this power, as the outspoken filmmaker and director of the well-known Sur said:
“the important thing was not the film itself but that which the film provoked.”
Here are just some of the things that the film The Cove managed to provoke:
-The cove in Taiji, Japan is no longer a secret.
-Previously, the film was banned in Japan, now it has been seen by hundreds of people within Japan.
-It helped fight off a proposal at the International Whaling Commission to lift the ban on whale hunting.
-Soloman Islands tribes agreed to end hundreds of years of dolphin hunting. NO DOLPHINS HAVE BEEN KILLED there in the past year for the first time in 450 years!
-Since The Cove the sale of dolphin meat within Japan was down 30%.
-Read more HERE for what other changes this film has affected.