The Cove directed by Louie Psihoyos has won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles.

The film about the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan features interviews with Sea Shepherd President and Founder Captain Paul Watson as well as footage of Sea Shepherd crewmembers Allison Lance and Alex Cornelissen releasing dolphins from the nets at Taiji.

The Cove won out over four other nominees including Michael Jackson’s This Is It.

The Cove shows the efforts of a special team put together by Psihoyos to follow the work of dolphin defender Ric O’Barry to oppose the killing of dolphins by local fishermen in a hidden cove in the whaling town of Taiji, the main source of dolphins captured for entertainment use around the world.

The film has won international acclaim and has exposed the horrific brutality inflicted upon the dolphins in Japan and the repressive measures the Japanese have used to keep their dirty little secret from being exposed. They failed.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is proud of this film. The genesis of the project began in October 2003 when Sea Shepherd sent a crew to document the slaughter. That was the same year that Allison Lance and Alex Cornelissen were arrested for the “crime” of saving the lives of 15 dolphins by releasing them from the nets.

Although video and photos taken by Sea Shepherd were published worldwide, it took a few more years of activism by O’Barry,  Sea Shepherd, and Surfers for Cetaceans to build up the momentum of a campaign which the film The Cove has brought to international critical review.

Sea Shepherd applauds Louie Psihoyos and his team along with Ric O’Barry. This film now has real potential to win an Academy Award.

{flv popup="true" divid="mypopup4" autostart="true"}2009-07-30_The_Cove_trailer{/flv} {avrpopup type="lightbox" id="mypopup4"}Watch the trailer for the film{/avrpopup}