Thanks to Steve Pond’s round-up this morning, we’re pointed to the AFP’s story concerning the Tokyo Film Festival premiere of “The Cove,” which took some doing to happen, you’ll recall.

The film, of course, stirred a controversy immediately in the town of Taiji, but the line of copy noting that “film makers [are] accused of covertly shooting footage using divers and hidden cameras” kind of makes me laugh out loud, I have to say.  Accused?  It’s there for you to see!

Naturally, the Taiji fisheries cooperative has written a letter of protest in defense of the barbaric slaughtering of dolphins (which, beyond a mere animal rights issue, becomes a health concern, as you see in the film).  An official notes in the letter that the cooperative has “heard that the film includes factual errors, and so we may take some sort of action, including legal steps, if we watch it and find problems.”

Lots of mights and mays in there, friends.  You’re dead in the water (forgive the pun).  Take your medicine.

There was apparently a Q & A session after the screening, which brought an inevitable defense by way of indicating Japanese tradition, but the AFO writer (Kyoko Hasegawa) should have been a bit more on it and at least noted that the film debunks the notion that slaughtering dolphins in Taiji is part of a long-held tradition.

The saga continues, I suppose.  My honest-to-God hope is that the film can land the Oscar for best Documentary Feature over Michael Moore’s latest so that Ric O’Barry and Louie Psihoyos can have a few seconds of face time with a massive global audience.

Meanwhile, Hoyos has written a lengthy first-person account of the festival screening.  Give that a look ASAP.

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