A controversial anti-vaccination documentary, which was to be screened at a central Victorian film festival, has been dropped in what organisers called an act of intimidation.

The film — Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe — questions the contentious issue of vaccinating children, linking a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine to autism.

On Wednesday, Castlemaine Local and International Film Festival (CLIFF) creative director David Thrussell defended its plan to screen the film.

Speaking to ABC Central Victoria, he said it was a matter of free speech and people should make up their own minds for an informed decision.

But on Friday, the film was pulled following a public outburst against the screening.

The committee reported it felt personally and professionally threatened in a “highly co-ordinated campaign of abuse and intimidation” to withdraw the dubious documentary.

“This is unacceptable,” the festival said in a statement.

“It is a sad reflection on the state of Australian democracy that legitimate questions cannot be raised in a public forum without inciting a campaign of ill-informed and dishonest intimidation.

Watch Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdCU2DfMBpU

“It is with the utmost regret therefore that CLIFF is compelled, for clear reasons of personal and public safety, to withdraw the screening from the CLIFF 2016 program.

“What can’t be contained however is people’s desire to see the film, and given this controversy, that will eventually happen in much greater numbers.”

Film withdrawn from Tribeca festival

The film was previously pulled from April’s Tribeca Film Festival lineup due to backlash.

Robert De Niro, who co-founded Tribeca and is not against vaccines, said on the Today Show there was “no reason” for the film to be pulled from the festival and he thinks people should watch it.

“I think the movie is something that people should see,” De Niro said.

“I didn’t want it to start affecting the festival in ways I couldn’t see.”

De Niro revealed in April his son Elliot, 18, has autism.

He hoped screening the film could have started a discussion about the alleged link between the vaccine and autism.

Watch Robert De Niro speak about the film below.