The upcoming Tribeca Film Festival has come under heat for its screening of a documentary that promotes the anti-vaccination movement. In a statement, Robert De Niro defended the screening of Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe while also distancing himself as part of the anti-vaccination movement. 
 
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 “Grace [Hightower, De Niro's wife] and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined," De Niro said (via Variety). "In the 15 years since the Tribeca Film Festival was founded, I have never asked for a film to be screened or gotten involved in the programming. However, this is very personal to me and my family and I want there to be a discussion, which is why we will be screening Vaxxed. I am not personally endorsing the film, nor am I anti-vaccination; I am only providing the opportunity for a conversation around the issue." 
 
 Andrew Wakefield, the doctor-turned-documentarian behind Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe, argues that vaccinations given to infants could lead to autism, a claim that the Centers for Disease Control has long denied. Wakefield's research papers on the subject have been attacked and discredited, and while his bio page on the Tribeca site mentions his work in the field, it doesn't mention that he's been accused of professional misconduct and falsifying information. Wakefield was also stripped of his medical license. 
 
 De Niro's statement has sparked even more controversy as the actor's decision to include the documentary as part of the film festival that he helped found represents only one side of the anti-vaccination debate. Filmmaker Penny Lane, who made the documentary Nuts! about a snake oil salesman and medical fraud in general, penned an open letter to the Tribeca Film Festival asking them to reconsider the Vaxxed screening. 
 
 "While it is true that we documentary filmmakers constantly debate vexing questions about the perceived and real differences between our work and the work of traditional journalism, I assure you that we are not debating whether it is okay to knowingly spread dangerous lies," Lane wrote of Wakefield. "In other words: issues around truth and ethics in documentary can get thorny. But this one should have been easy. The anti-vaccination hoax has been completely discredited by now. This film is not some sort of disinterested investigation into the 'vaccines cause autism' hoax; this film is 'directed by the person who perpetuated the hoax.'" 
 
 As of now, Vaxxed is scheduled to screen April 24th at the film festival. ||||| The Tribeca Film Festival is facing serious backlash for including anti-vaccination documentary “Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe” from doctor-turned-documentarian Andrew Wakefield into its 2016 lineup. 
 
 Wakefield is a fervent believer in the link between vaccination and autism. He has also been the subject of many controversies, including being accused of professional misconduct and falsifying information as early as 1998 in one of his research papers. Wakefield’s bio on the festival’s page for the documentary mentions the research paper and study but not that it was later discredited. 
 
 Many called for a response about the festival’s decision. Robert DeNiro, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, defended the choice to include the film, even though he doesn’t endorse the content. 
 
 “Grace and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined. In the 15 years since the Tribeca Film Festival was founded, I have never asked for a film to be screened or gotten involved in the programming. However this is very personal to me and my family and I want there to be a discussion, which is why we will be screening VAXXED. I am not personally endorsing the film, nor am I anti-vaccination; I am only providing the opportunity for a conversation around the issue.” 
 
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 His statement spurred more negative reactions on Twitter, many questioning his decision to include such a controversial film if he in fact doesn’t support the anti-vaccination movement. 
 
 Including the film has prompted some to categorized the festival’s decision as “irresponsible” and called out the film for being “dishonest” and “one-sided” in its message. 
 
 According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is no link between vaccination and Autism Spectrum Disorders. 
 
 Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks, in a statement on the org’s website says “vaccines are very important” and “parents must make the decision whether to vaccinate their children.” 
 
 He adds that, “If parents decide not to vaccinate they must be aware of the consequences in their community and their local schools.” 
 
 The film premieres on April 24 at the Tribeca Film Festival, which will include a conversation with the filmmakers after the screening. ||||| Mr. De Niro’s statement seemed to suggest that this was the first time he has expressed a preference that a particular film be shown at the festival. 
 
 “Grace and I have a child with autism,” he wrote, referring to his wife, Grace Hightower De Niro, “and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined. In the 15 years since the Tribeca Film Festival was founded, I have never asked for a film to be screened or gotten involved in the programming. However this is very personal to me and my family and I want there to be a discussion, which is why we will be screening VAXXED.” 
 
 Within hours his statement, posted on Facebook, generated hundreds of comments. 
 
 The trailer for the film, filled with dramatic music, opens with the words “Are Our Children Safe?” on a black screen with billowing smoke that appears to be coming from a syringe. The trailer includes the suggestion that a “whistle-blower” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would say that the organization “had committed fraud” and “that they knew that vaccines were actually causing autism.” Mr. Wakefield appears in the trailer saying, “Wow, the C.D.C. had known all along there was this M.M.R. autism risk.” ||||| Actor Robert De Niro talks to reporters and film professionals at the 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia, last August. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters) 
 
 Cause: Vaccine safety. Specifically the debunked link between mercury found in early childhood vaccines and autism, a claim the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has unequivocally refuted. 
 
 Celeb: Legendary actor Robert De Niro, who’s got a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Kennedy Center Honor medallion to add to his stack of Hollywood trophies. 
 
 What’s he doing on the panel? The 73-year-old Oscar winner was maligned last March when he initially defended the inclusion of “Vaxxed,” a documentary about the alleged danger of vaccines, at the venerable Tribeca Film Festival. After an outcry from the scientific and cinematic communities, De Niro, a founder of the festival who also has a son on the autism spectrum, pulled the film. 
 
 [7 things about vaccines and autism that the movie ‘Vaxxed’ won’t tell you] 
 
 Scene: It was a fiery panel at the National Press Club on Wednesday morning. Led by Robert Kennedy Jr., chairman of the World Mercury Project, the stage was stuffed with men who believed journalists had dropped the ball. 
 
 Kennedy spoke for 20 minutes, pointing to a leaning tower of 240 studies, three charts and several binders threatening to burst that all, according to him, proved that certain vaccines were unsafe to a certain population of children. So certain was he in the science that Kennedy announced a $100,000 reward for any journalist (or anybody) who could produce “a single study that says it’s safe to inject mothers with the levels of mercury we are currently injecting them with.” 
 
 But here’s the kicker, “You’re not gonna be able to do it. The study doesn’t exist,” said Kennedy. Also don’t call him an “anti-vaxxer.” 
 
 “That’s a dirty word used to shut down debate,” he added. Kennedy made clear that he wasn’t against vaccines, he was for safe vaccines. Which is probably why President Trump has been batting around the idea of having Kennedy chair a vaccine safety commission. Kennedy has been in contact with the Trump team about the commission since December, but nothing concrete has been announced. 
 
 [Cleveland Clinic doc pens viral screed against vaccines, peers call it ‘post-truth medicine’] 
 
 For his part, De Niro, dressed in a dark suit, sat quietly in the middle of the stage. When it was his turn to testify to the audience of reporters, the actor was blunt: “I’m glad I’m here. I thought what Bobby said was great. It was eloquent. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I agree with him 100 percent. Thank you.” The end. 
 
 Sound bite: But before the morning was through, De Niro was asked point-blank whether he planned on working with Trump, a man the actor once said he’d like to punch in the face, on this issue. 
 
 “I am only concerned about this. Trump I don’t care about,” De Niro said. “If he does the right thing, he does the right thing. I don’t have to be connected with him.”
– Robert De Niro says he's not anti-vaccination—he's just in favor of screening an anti-vaccination documentary made by a disgraced medical researcher. The actor is defending his decision to include Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival, which he co-founded, Rolling Stone reports. The film is directed and co-written by British anti-vaccination activist Andrew Wakefield, who was stripped of his medical license for ethics violations, reports the New York Times. Wakefield was behind a controversial 1998 study linking vaccines to autism, which was later discredited and retracted by the medical journal that published it. "Grace and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined," De Niro said, per Variety. He said that in the 15 years since he founded the festival, he has never been involved in programming, but "this is very personal to me and my family and I want there to be a discussion, which is why we will be screening Vaxxed. I am not personally endorsing the film, nor am I anti-vaccination; I am only providing the opportunity for a conversation around the issue." In an open letter in Filmmaker magazine, documentary maker Penny Lane urged the festival to reconsider its decision to spread "dangerous misinformation."