The Cove Wins an Oscar

By: Jeff Mull | March 8th, 2010 at 2:38am

The Academy Awards took a step tonight toward the surfing community when they awarded an Oscar to the documentary film The Cove. The movie, a documentary film chronicling the slaughter of dolphins in a remote town in Japan, included Dave Rastovich and other activists. The film won an Oscar in the best documentary category tonight.

A mix of cloak-and-dagger, behind-the-frontlines work with numerous gut-wrenching segments, The Cove tells the true tale of the annual slaughter of dolphins in the town of Taiji, Japan. The dolphins are herded and killed by the hundreds with the practice going largely unnoticed by the international community. The Cove claims that nearly 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed annually in Japan.

"Just to be nominated is a huge award. But if we win, it's a chance to advance a little bit further what we sat out to do," said Ric O'Barry to the LA Times prior to the awards.

The fisherman involved in the dolphin killings state that it is a part of Japanese tradition and oppose the way the film portrays them.

After the announcement that The Cove had received and Oscar, the mayor of Taiji, Japan--the area where the dolphins are annually slaughtered--voiced his opposition to the film and the subsequent award.

"There are a variety of customs relating to food, within this country and abroad," he said. "An attitude of mutual respect is necessary, based on understanding of the years-old traditions arising from these customs and the circumstances surrounding them."

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