The controversial documentary film “Vaxxed, From Cover-Up to Controversy” is headed to Boardman for a one-night screening event at Cinema South on Wed., Aug. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
      Vaxxed is an investigation into how the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the government agency charged with protecting the health of American citizens, concealed and destroyed data in their 2004 study that showed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
      “This alarming deception has contributed to the skyrocketing increase of autism, potentially the most catastrophic epidemic of our lifetime,” says Marsha Karzmer, of Overhill Rd., who is responsible for bringing the documentary to CinemaSouth.
      “It’s not that I’m against vaccines. I’m not totally anti-vaccine. But, like this documentary shows, there is a link between autism and the MMR vaccine,” Karzmer says, pointing to statistics that reflect the alarming increase in the number of children with autism.
      For example, Karzmer notes in 1980, about one in every 10,000 children had autism. Ten years ago the rate was one in every 116 children, and today that rate is about one in every 45 children.
      Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at MIT, claims in the movie Vaxxed that by the year 2032 one in every two boys will have autism if they stick with current vaccination schedules.
      “That’s alarming and people need to know about it. See this documentary and you will hear from the people who have done the research,” Karzmer said.
      Tickets can only be purchased online. They will not sold at the theatre so reserve tickets ahead of time by going to http://gathr.us/screening/15973
      Vaxxed garnered international headlines when it was ‘de-selected’ from the already-announced line-up of the Tribeca Film Festival under pressure from festival sponsors with close ties to Big Pharma and purportedly from filmmakers.
      “When it was originally announced as part of the program, there was a coordinated effort to brand the film as “anti- vaccine,” when in fact it calls for safer vaccines. Many of those who set out to censor the film, had never actually seen it,” Karzmer noted.
      Actor Robert De Niro, a Tribeca Festival co-founder, later disavowed the ‘disinvitation’ of the film and went on national network television (NBC’s Today Show) to urge the public to “go see this film.”
      In an interview published May 20 on Vulture.com, before revealing plans to make his own documentary on vaccines with Harvey Weinstein, De Niro shared what he learned from the Vaxxed controversy:
      “First of all, there was a big reaction, which I didn’t see coming, and it was from filmmakers, supposedly, I have yet to find out who it was. I wanted to just know who they were, because to me there was no reason not to see the movie.
      “The movie is not hurting anybody. It says something. It said something to me that was valid. Maybe some things were inaccurate, but if the movie was 20 percent accurate, it was worth seeing. And they were saying it’s because of the filmmaker and he was discredited, but how was he discredited? By the medical establishment? “There’s a lot going on that I still don’t understand, but it makes me question the whole thing, and the whole vaccine issue is a real one. It’s big money,” says Karzmer.
      “This is an important event for our community on many levels as it allows the voices of autism families to be heard and their experiences to be seen. It allows us to discuss the issues surrounding vaccine safety and health freedom, and it brings us together so we can discuss ways in which we can collaborate on these issues for the future,” Karzmer said.