Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- “The Cove,” a documentary about the annual dolphin hunt in the Japanese fishing village of Taiji, will be shown to the nation’s general public for the first time tomorrow at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

The documentary features Ric O’Barry, former dolphin trainer for the television show “Flipper,” in his pursuit to stop Taiji’s fishermen from catching and killing the mammals.

The film was added to the festival at the last minute because of growing worldwide interest in the U.S. documentary, said Tom Yoda, chairman for the event.

“We were just carefully looking at the situation overseas and there was growing attention about this film,” Yoda said at a news conference on Sept. 17, a day after announcing the film’s inclusion in the festival. Because the documentary “became so hot, we decided to screen this film,” he said.

Japanese have been hunting dolphins for as long as 9,000 years, and Taiji’s hunt is legal under international and domestic law, according to a Web site operated by the town’s fishing association.

A total 1,623 dolphins were killed in 2007 in Wakayama prefecture, where Taiji is located, according to Japan’s Fisheries Agency. This was the second-highest number after Iwate prefecture in northern Japan. Eight of Japan’s 47 prefectures are allowed to hunt dolphins, with the number killed targeted around 20,000 annually, according to the agency.

The Taiji hunt starts at the beginning of September and lasts through February in the town 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Osaka.

Disclaimer

A disclaimer will be added to the film, Yoda said, representing the first time the Tokyo festival has renounced responsibility for a film’s content.

“Because there is so much attention and focus on this film, we do have the responsibility to explain our position if questions are asked,” Yoda said. “We’re aware that outside of our film festival, there are some controversies.”

Attention was focused on Taiji after the worldwide release of “The Cove” this summer. The Australian city of Broome, which has had sister-city ties with Taiji for 28 years, said in August it would suspend the relationship “while the practice of harvesting dolphins exists.” The town later rescinded the statement and reinstated the relationship.

The Tokyo festival categorizes the film as an “Additional Screening,” meaning it won’t be eligible for the event’s main competition. Tickets for the screening are sold out.

“I felt the film had a component of environmentalists’ propaganda,” said Kenji Mizukami, a freelance writer for cinema magazines who saw “The Cove” at a private screening on Oct. 18. “However I think it’s a good thing to show this to people as it would encourage debate.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Kitanaka in Tokyo akitanaka@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 19, 2009 21:42 EDT