The Cove director won't bow to Japanese protests

Oscar-winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos says a cancelled screening and protests at his Japanese film distributor's office won't stop him from trying to get the word out in Japan about saving dolphins.

Last week, the U.S. Air Force's Yokota base, located west of Tokyo, announced it was cancelling a screening of his Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove — which shines a light on the bloody, violent and secretive dolphin hunt that takes place in the Japanese town of Taiji.

The reason for the cancellation is to be "sensitive to local political and culture concerns," according to a spokesperson for the base.

Psihoyos responded on Thursday by announcing that he will provide 100 DVD copies of his film to people stationed at the base so they can watch it.

"The military is facing a lot of pressure by our government to make nice of the Japanese," he told The Associated Press.

"We are going to win this battle, with or without the U.S. military."

The Cove, which nabbed a myriad of documentary film honours around the globe in the past year, has had only several small screenings so far in Tokyo, including at a film festival.

It is slated to be released theatrically in Japan in June. However, the movie has already drawn protesters, who demonstrated at the Japanese distributor's office and demand it not be shown.

According to Psihoyos, only a small fraction of Japanese people willingly eat dolphin or whale meat, which is high in mercury levels, and most are shocked when faced with footage of the slaughter of these mammals.