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A group of at least 20 farmers, some who woke at 4:30 a.m. in order to travel to Manhattan for a Tribeca Film Festival screening of Gasland Part II, were barred from seeing the film after questioning celebrity anti-fracking director Yoko Ono, according to filmmaker Phelim McAleer.

Festival security officials allegedly blocked the from entering, and soon area police officers reportedly arrived to make sure none of the farmers could enter.

Some of the farmers, said McAleer, had yelled tough questions at both Gasland Part II director Josh Fox and anti-fracking advocate Yoko Ono as they walked the red before the 3:30 p.m. screening. Both films insist the process of fracking poses an environmental hazard that far outweighs its power-producing benefits. McAleer told Breitbart News that the tough questions apparently convinced festival officials to prevent them from seeing the actual film.

"Any farmer who had the temerity to question Yoko Ono or Josh Fox wasn’t allowed in," McAleer says. "These film festivals want to be edgy, they want to be controversial and they want people to be passionate about film ... but they only want a certain kind of passionate people."

 

Breitbart News has several messages into the film festival's press department for comment. 

UPDATE: Tribeca Film Festival spokesperson Tammie Rosen released this statement regarding the screening:

Gasland Part II had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Guests that had purchased advance and were in line for the film 30 minutes prior, as our ticket policy states, were admitted into the screening. Once the house was at capacity, the remaining ticket holders who had not been in line prior to 30 minutes were unfortunately not able to be accommodated in the theater.

REST OF THE FRACKING MESS