The Cove. Truly Shocking

December 8, 2008One event that happens in the film festival world, but actually gets mention outside of it as well, is the announcement of the Sundance line-up. For some reason, this is the moment that most film festival calendars revolve around.So it should come as no surprise that David and I started perusing the list of Sundance competition films last week.I was impressed by the diversity of topics. Or maybe it's just that more of the films this year seem to be about actual issues in the world, rather than naval gazing art-for-art's-sake (which can be fascinating, don't get me wrong).One film that particularly stood out for me, and potentially for Mountainfilm, is called The Cove. Colorado filmmaker and former National Geographic photographer Louis Psihoyos went undercover to reveal the horrific dolphin slaughter that takes place routinely in a hidden cove in Japan, under the radar of international scrutiny.This article (careful, there are some truly horrific images) went mostly unnoticed last March, but now, thanks to a Sundance nod, I'm glad that the story will get some attention. Dolphins are one of the only species (if not the only) who have been documented saving human lives; now it's our turn to save theirs.I wasn't blown away by the trailer, but I imagine they were rather limited in what they could show. This film isn't going to be uplifting, and from the pictures I've seen, I imagine it will be quite gruesome. But this is one story that needs to be told.Watch The Cove trailer:

Posted by Emily Long