Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival

 
Presumed Guilty
Director: Roberto Hernández/Geoffrey Smith
Country: Mexico
Year: 2009
Runtime: 91 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Screening Times: Saturday, March 6, 8:30 p.m. Rated PG.
 
Buy tickets from Cinematheque Ontario
 
Synopsis:
What is it like to be picked up off the street, told you have committed a murder you know nothing about, and find yourself behind bars for 20 years? In December 2005 this happened to Toño Zuniga in Mexico City, and like thousands of other innocent young men he was condemned for a crime he had never committed. Presumed Guilty is the story of two young lawyers and their incredible struggle to free Toño. With no background in film, they set about recording his story as they realized that only a camera could reveal the institutionalized injustice they were witnessing. Shot over three years with unprecedented camera access to the Mexican court and prison systems, this observational film is highly dramatic and full of real suspense, yet also, a searing indictment of a system where the police do not have to investigate because the system presumes guilt.
 
Directors’ Biographies:
Roberto Hernández was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and is completing a doctorate in public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Presumed Guilty is his first feature-length documentary. Geoffrey Smith was born in Melbourne, Australia, and has made over 20 television documentaries. His film The English Surgeon was named the best international feature documentary at the 2008 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. Presumed Guilty is his latest film.
 
Film Festivals:
Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, September 2009
Intl Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL, November 2009
Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, February 2010
 
Awards:
Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia “Best Feature Documentary”
 
Media Coverage:
El Universal: “Presunto culpable” gana en Morelia
NOW: Mexican doc takes up the cause of helping a wrongly convicted man
Reuters: Documentary exposes Mexico’s ‘medieval’ courts
The Documentary Blog: Presumed Guilty – Fest Review
The Wall Street Journal: Presumption of Guilt
Variety: Presumed Guilty – Film Review
 
Official Film Website:
Presumed Guilty: The Movie
 
Overview by Julie Giles