The Cove has it all. There's action and there's politics, there's espionage and corruption, and then there are the unwitting protagonists of this film: the dolphins. A campaigning documentary — modern, candid, laying bare the limitations of our species, which still struggles to grasp the greatness of these mammals and all too often hides behind tradition.

Ric O'Berry, who became a famous dolphin trainer through the 1960s series Flipper, spent ten years working in the entertainment industry and the past thirty years fighting it.

That is why he was so determined to make this project happen, assembling a real team — from special-effects technicians and marine researchers to world freediving champions and surfers — with a single goal: to show the world what takes place in the bay of Taiji, Japan, and to put a stop to it all. In an interview by Caterina d'Amico, Ric O'Berry states: "… after seeing the film, people want to do their part to change the situation […], what needs to be made clear is that captivity is not a form of education".

"The 'stolen' documentary that bears witness to the fate of more than 25,000 cetaceans — dolphins, spinner dolphins and pilot whales — is as extraordinary as it is raw — says Ilaria Ferri, scientific officer at Enpa and supporter of the campaign against the dolphin slaughter — with the flavour of a spy story, it documents a direct and incontrovertible reality that is unknown to most, including Japanese citizens themselves".

Read also: The new dolphin slaughter in the bay of Taiji in Japan

"Thanks to the tireless work of Ric O'Barry — she continues — this exposé will finally receive the attention it deserves. The time has indeed come to say enough to these crimes against nature! In this very International Year of Biodiversity, we would like to celebrate the end of these uncivilised and unacceptable practices. Whales and dolphins belong to the sea, and it is all our responsibility to guarantee their freedom".

The DVD, with the book "Il lamento del mare" included, is distributed by Feltrinelli Real Cinema. "The Cove is truly a perfect example of the series — explains Plazzotta Anastasia, home cinema editor at Feltrinelli — also because it explains, informs and documents. But it does so by telling a story. It is a documentary to watch and watch again. As well as raising awareness of a subject that was little addressed before (how many of us have taken our children to dolphinariums without knowing what lies 'behind the smile of a dolphin'?), it is a film built with a dramatic tension and a suspense worthy of the finest fiction features. It is an excellent example of how a story can be told and cinema can be made starting from reality, from what is already there around us, without the need to invent anything".