Top movie website IMDb has denied rejecting a Sydney film because of its producers' plan to distribute it for free on BitTorrent, saying it does not matter how a project is released.

The Sydney producers of The Tunnel, which is in post-production, believed it was barred from being listed on the Internet Movie Database because its distribution method, BitTorrent, is often used for the illegal sharing of movies and music.

IMDb's head of public relations and marketing said the company would "review this specific case", but brushed off the producers' claims of bias.

"To the contrary, we already list many titles that were initially or solely distributed online and/or via BitTorrent," Emily Glassman wrote in an email from Seattle, where the company is based.