“The Cove” Coming to Santa Barbara

August 26, 2009
"The Cove is a cautionary tale and must be seen everywhere." - Jean-Michel Cousteau

In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden from the world. At last, the truth of THE COVE comes to the fore in an act of covert filmmaking that turns a documentary into a gripping action-adventure thriller  and a heart-pounding call for help from the world's oceans.  
 
After viewing The Cove at a film festival last June in Canada; Jean-Michel pulled his entire Santa Barbara office staff together to watch the trailer and to discuss the important environmental message of this film.   From then on, OFS has been following the momentum this film has generated and has been spreading the word as MUST SEE film.  
 
Now the film is coming to Santa Barbara and Jean-Michel will be on hand to introduce the film as well as Q & A's after the screening for 7pm show time on Saturday August 29th at the Plaza De Oro theater.   Other marine conservation organizations will be on hand sharing literature and information on how everyone can get involved to make sure this horrendous act comes to an end.

In the words of Jean-Michel Cousteau: The Cove is a film that everyone should see, even those people who don't think they're interested in dolphins or the ocean.  It is a film that speaks to the issues of our times, far beyond any specific animal or particular cause.

The Cove is shocking, fascinating, and compelling, involving a charismatic animal, the bottlenose dolphin, and charismatic, brave, smart, interesting people. Ric O'Barry continues to live out a commitment he made to dolphins as a result of the agony he suffered in realizing their true nature as sentient, feeling animals after he spent years training them in the oceanarium entertainment business.   

That is what most viewers will expect to see and they will be fascinated, heartbroken, and energized to follow this particular issue.  But what we all learn from this film is that there are commercial interests at work throughout the world that are separate from any culture or country and that often work in secrecy from the people that surround them. 

The Cove reveals a nasty secret, not about a country or a culture, but about a business that is hypocritical in displaying dolphins for our entertainment, claiming to educate people by their captivity, and acquiring them in brutal, hidden ways.  It is a cautionary tale and must be seen everywhere.