TOKYO — A 2015 Japanese documentary introducing the voices of Japanese people who support the country’s tradition of whaling and dolphin hunting won an award at an international film festival in London last week, its director said Monday.

Keiko Yagi, who directed “Behind the Cove,” won the Best Director of a Feature Documentary award at the Feb. 10-17 London International Filmmaker Festival.

Her film attempts to rebut the 2010 Oscar-winning U.S. film “The Cove,” which thrust the small Japanese whaling town of Taiji into the international spotlight with bloody scenes of its annual dolphin hunt.

Yagi, who attended the festival, said it was significant her 105-minute film, aimed at ending “misconceptions” about the long-standing Japanese tradition, won an award in London where anti-whaling activists often hold protests.