Timeline of Vaxxed: from Cover-up to Catastrophe and Tribeca Film Festival:
Monday, March 21, the Tribeca Film Festival announced that, Vaxxed: from Cover-up to Catastrophe, directed by Andy Wakefield and produced by Del Bigtree, will have its premiere in Tribeca Talks.
Friday, March 25, Festival co-founder, Robert DeNiro, after being besieged by naysayers attacking the Festival and him for their decision to screen this film, came out in support of the film being screened. He released this statement to the press: “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.”
As was expected, this announcement drew a media frenzy. As I wrote in Mediocrity Always Attacks Excellence, a shizzstorm of mainstream writers, bloggers, and social media were on fire about Vaxxed, Andy Wakefield, the content covered in the film. 2 change.org petitions on Facebook were created. Open letters were written to Mr. DeNiro by “friends” and critics expressing their outrage and disappointment.
Saturday, March 26, Robert DeNiro pulled the film from the Festival and issued this statement:
“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.
The Festival doesn’t seek to avoid or shy away from controversy. However, 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.”
Something or someone must have happened to change Robert DeNiro’s mind. While it has not been confirmed by Tribeca Film Festival who it was that spoke with Robert DeNiro, the NYTimes included comments from Dr. William Schaffner, a medical professor of preventative medicine at the Vanderbilt University of Medicine. No matter what happened or who it was who influenced the decision to pull the film may from the Tribeca Film Festival, Vaxxed: from Cover-up to Catastrophe will most definitely will be seen. Vaxxed is not about Andy Wakefield and his history. What it is is a powerful expose of an intentional cover-up by the CDC as revealed through irrefutable data presented by whistleblower and CDC Senior Scientist, Dr. William Thompson. The ramifications of this information being made public will ripple throughout many industries so the push to distract people from what the film discloses is strategic.
This the Official statement from Andrew Wakefield, director, and, Del Bigtree, producer, Vaxxed: from Cover-up to Catastrophe,
in response to Robert DeNiro and Tribeca Film Festival pulling the film from their schedule.
March 26, 2016
To our dismay, we learned on March 26 about the Tribeca Film Festival’s decision to reverse the official selection of Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe.
It is important to note that this is not an anti-vaccine movie as it is has been commonly portrayed in the media. Robert De Niro’s original defense of the film happenedFriday after a one-hour conversation between De Niro and and Bill Posey, the congressman who has interacted directly and at length with the CDC Whistleblower (Dr. William Thompson) and whose team has scrutinized the documents that strongly indicate fraud at the CDC. That is what this film is about.
It is our understanding that persons from an organization affiliated with the festival have made unspecified allegations against the film – claims that we were given no opportunity to challenge or redress. We were denied due process.
We have just witnessed yet another example of the power of corporate interests censoring free speech, art, and truth.
Tribeca’s action will not succeed in denying the world access to the truth behind the film Vaxxed.
We are grateful to the many thousands of people who have already mobilized including doctors, scientists, educators and the autistic community.
We will be pressing forward and sharing our plans in the very near future.
Onward!
– Andrew Wakefield (Director) and Del Bigtree (Producer)
www.vaxxedthemovie.com | @vaxxedthemovie | facebook.com/vaxxedthemovie
Press contact: press@vaxxedthemovie.com
