Anti-racing protesters rally outside the premier of the movie Ride Like a Girl. Credit:AAP

Animal activists have stormed the world premiere of a film depicting the life of jockey Michelle Payne, calling for an end to what it labels the horse racing industry’s “cruel” practices.

Ride Like A Girl, starring Teresa Palmer and Sam Neill, is billed as the true story of Michelle Payne, the first woman jockey to win the Melbourne Cup.

The film has raised the ire of activist group Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, with protesters rallying outside the debut screening of Ride Like A Girl at the Jam Factory in South Yarra on Sunday.

Protesters wielded placards, chanted and screened confronting vision of horses being shot in the head in a knackery.