Zoom-in Online

The other side will tell you that whales and dolphins are responsible for the recent depletion of the world’s fish population. The other side will tell you that dolphin hunting is a deeply ingrained part of Japanese culture. The other side will tell you that there is no health risk in eating dolphin meat. The other side will tell you that they have found no evidence to support arguments that dolphins are exceptional animals.

The Cove director Louie Psihoyos will tell you that the other side is wrong.

Inspired by activist and former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry, supported by his past in journalism and aided by a dedicated crew, Psihoyos set out to the small town of Taiji, Wakayama, Japan to try and get definitive proof of the needless slaughter of a supposed 23,000 dolphins a year. Spurned by an overly protective local government, Psihoyos and crew resorted to multiple unlawful nighttime excursions into the cove equipped with state-of-the-art, hidden camera technology to secure the proof they needed to expose the atrocities against nature. And proof they secured.

The likely front-runner for the Best Documentary Feature at the 2010 Academy Awards, The Cove is so much more than a story about the slaughter of dolphins. Joining Zoom In Online by phone, Psihoyos discusses the greater implications of the film as well as tactics he used to complete it and the hopes he has for its proliferation.

For more information, be sure to visit thecovemovie.com and www.takepart.com/thecove.