The producer of an anti-vaccination film pulled from Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival says the Taxi Driver star is 'not at fault' for the decision.
Vaxxed: from Cover-Up to Catastrophe was scheduled to premiere at the New York film festival next month, with De Niro originally defending its selection, before reversing his decision.
The 72-year-old actor, himself the father of an autistic child, says: "My intent in screening this film was to provide an opportunity for conversation around an issue that is deeply personal to me and my family.
"But after reviewing it over the past few days with the Tribeca Film Festival team and others from the scientific community, we do not believe it contributes to or furthers the discussion I had hoped for.
"We have concerns with certain things in this film that we feel prevent us from presenting it in the Festival program. We have decided to remove it from our schedule."
The film is directed by Andrew Wakefield, a British medical researcher who authored a 1998 paper that purported to find a link between the common MMR vaccine and autism. The paper has been widely cited by anti-vaccination crusaders, but its results were never replicated in another study.
Wakefield's paper has since been rescinded by the journal in which it was originally published, and his medical licence has been revoked.
Polly Tommey, a producer of Vaxxed: from Cover-Up to Catastrophe and controversial autism-awareness campaigner, has published a blog post defending the film after its pulling from Tribeca.
"This film has been thoroughly researched and fact-checked," says Ms Tommey.
"We have spent many years researching collectively so we could bring you accurate information -- the truth about the man-made autism epidemic."
Ms Tommey defends Dr Wakefield in the post, insisting he is not an anti-vaccination activist but is rather "pro-vaccine safety". She calls the festival cancellation a "disaster", but says De Niro isn't to blame.
"Robert De Niro is not at fault here. At the end of the day, he is an autism parent like me, neither of us is a scientist or medic," says Ms Tommey.
"Some of the most experienced brains and experts continue working together to bring you the truth. And these people can't be bought. They won't be silenced by threats. Mr De Niro says he has taken 'scientific' advice. I feel bad for him because he took it from the wrong people."
The 2016 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 13 - April 24 in lower Manhattan.
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