AFI-Discovery Channel SILVERDOCS 2009

Richard O’Barry spent three years in the mid-’60s making “Flipper” a household name and the rest of his life trying to dismantle the multibillion-dollar aquatic industry that he had inadvertently helped create. O’Barry had captured and trained all five of the dolphins who played the role on TV, forming a particular bond with Cathy, the dolphin who played Flipper more than any other. On the surface, Flipper appeared happy, performing cute acrobatic tricks and engaging in unprecedented interactions with humans. Yet, when Cathy took her own life in a state of acute depression, O’Barry dedicated the rest of his life to trying to free captive dolphins, and he launched a searing campaign against the industry. Traveling halfway around the globe to Taiji, Japan, O’Barry turns his focus on a stunning oceanside village lined with scenic cliffs and magnificent shoreline. Yet lurking just beneath the picturesque surface lies a dark secret. Fishermen in Taiji are engaging in a brutal and seemingly unnecessary slaughter of thousands of dolphins every year. While a living dolphin can easily sell for $250,000 to be placed in an aquatic park, O’Barry wonders what possible use there can be for a dead dolphin, let alone thousands? With mercury content particularly high in dolphins, their meat cannot—or, rather, should not— be consumed by humans. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and expose this senseless massacre, O’Barry goes undercover with an extraordinary band of professional filmmakers, scuba divers and environmental activists to document and reveal to the world what is happening. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, THE COVE is a devastating indictment of human greed and arrogance, a tale of redemption and a desperate call to action.