Louie Psihoyos' Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, about the indiscriminate slaughter of dolphins in the Japanese town of Taiji, will finally reach Japanese screens in July. Earlier this month, flag-waving right-wingers — who accused The Cove of being anti-Japanese and distorting the truth — had caused a number of theaters to cancel screenings of Psihoyos' film.
According to Unplugged, which is distributing The Cove in Japan, six theaters will start showing the movie July 3. Another 16 will follow at a later date.
The cancellation of the Cove screenings a couple of weeks ago had led to widespread outrage in the (non-right-wing) Japanese media.
According to an Associated Press report, two years ago Japanese right-wingers targeted Li Ying's documentary Yasukuni, about the controversial World War II shrine. Following cancelled screenings, Yasukuni finally opened in Japan, where it became a box-office success.
Taiji, the town where the dolphin massacre takes place, defends the practice as an old tradition.
More information on Taiji's "old tradition" here.
Photo: Oscilloscope Laboratories