Exhibition Movie Screening "The Cove"
Film screening session, followed by debate with Ric O'Barry (Founder/Director of Dolphin Project).
Academy Award® Winner for “Best Documentary of 2009”
A team of activists, filmmakers, and freedivers embark on a covert mission to expose a deadly secret hidden in a remote cove in Taiji, Japan. By utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, they uncover a horrible annual tradition of unparalleled cruelty. A provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure, and arresting imagery makes this an unforgettable and courageous story that inspires outrage and action.
Orador
Ric O’Barry, Founder/Director of Dolphin Project
In the 1960s, O’Barry was employed by the Miami Seaquarium, where he captured and trained dolphins, including the five dolphins who played the role of Flipper in the popular American TV series of the same name. He also trained Hugo, the first orca kept in captivity east of the Mississippi. When Kathy, the dolphin who played Flipper most of the time died in his arms, O’Barry realized that capturing dolphins and training them to perform silly tricks is simply wrong. From that moment on, O’Barry knew what he must do with his life.
On the first Earth Day, 1970, he launched a searing campaign against the multi-billion dollar dolphin captivity industry, and the Dolphin Project was born. Over the past 53 years, Ric O’Barry has rescued and rehabilitated dolphins in many countries around the world, including Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, South Korea, the Bahamas Islands and the United States. He is a leading voice in the fight to end brutal dolphin hunts in Japan, Solomon Islands, Faroe Islands, Indonesia and wherever else they occur.
O’Barry has been recognized by many national and international entities for his dedicated efforts, such as being voted Huffington Post’s 2010 Most Influential Green Game Changer, and being listed on O Magazine’s 2010 Power List – “Men We Admire for his “Power of Passion.” He has done countless interviews with such prestigious news programs as Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360, Katie Couric, the Mike Huckabee Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show.
His book “Behind the Dolphin Smile” was published in 1989; a second book, “To Free A Dolphin” was published in September 2000. Both are about his work and dedication. He is the star of the Academy Award-winning documentary “The Cove” and the Animal Planet television series “Blood Dolphin$.”
O’Barry is a Fellow National in the Explorers Club, a multidisciplinary society that links together scientists and explorers from all over the world. Each member is an accomplished individual with at least one fascinating story to tell.
O’Barry received an Environmental Achievement Award, presented by the United States Committee for the United Nations Environmental Program.
Dolphin Project’s work in Taiji
Each year from approximately September 1 to March 1, a large-scale hunt of dolphins takes place in the small village of Taiji, Japan, as featured in the 2010 Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove. During this six month-long hunting season, dolphin hunters utilize drive hunt techniques to herd large numbers of dolphins to shore, resulting in their capture or death.
The captured dolphins may be selected for live trade to aquariums and marine parks for display, while others are slaughtered for their meat. The price for live captures is many times higher than those killed.
Dolphin Project’s work in Taiji
“O’Barry’s is the first and only case in Japanese history where a foreigner was deported from Japan by the government and fought the system in court and won.” ~ Takashi Takano, The Law Offices of Takashi Takano.
Read about Ric’s deportation from Japan in 2016, and his return to the country this past month.
