Directed by Roberto Hernandez & Geoffrey Smith
In December 2005 Tono Zuniga was picked up off the street in Mexico City, Mexico, and sentenced to 20 years for murder based on the testimony of a single, shaky eyewitness. PRESUMED GUILTY tells the heart-wrenching story of a man who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A friend of To?o's contacted two young lawyers, Roberto Hernandez and Layda Negrete, who gained prominence in Mexico when they helped bring about the release of another innocent man from prison. As Centro de Investigaci車n y Docencia Econ車micas (CIDE) legal researchers, they tracked an alarming history of corruption in the Mexican justice system (93% of inmates never see an arrest warrant, and 93% of defendants never see a judge).
Looking into To?o's case, Roberto and Layda managed to get a retrial每on camera〞and enlisted the help of filmmaker Geoffrey Smith (THE ENGLISH SURGEON) to chronicle the saga. Shot over three years with unprecedented access to the Mexican courts and prisons, this dramatic story is a searing indictment of a justice system that presumes guilt.
Reviews
~ "PRESUMED GUILTY is a terrific film 每 gripping, shocking and quite illuminating." - Charles D. Weisselberg, Shannon C. Turner Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
~ "A rare 每 and chilling 每 glimpse of Mexico's dysfunctional legal system." - David Luhnow, Wall Street Journal
~ "Showing to the world in vivid detail the deep flaws in the system, undermining the most basic ideals of justice, this film has the potential to blow the lid on the Mexican criminal justice systems. - Jack Glaser, Associate Professor at Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
Awards
~ Humanitas Award, 2010 International Documentary Association, Los Angeles
~ Audience Award, 2010 Verzio Film Festival, Budapest
~ Audience Award, 2010 Sarajevo Film Festival
~ Feature Documentary Award, 2010 One World Media, London
~ Best Documentary Award, Best Audience Award, 2010 DocumentaMadrid
~ Best Feature Documentary Award, 2010 East End Film Festival, London
~ Audience Award for Best International Feature, 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival
~ Golden Gate Best Bay Area Documentary, 2010 San Francisco International Film Festival
~ Best Documentary Award, 2010 Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico
~ Amnesty International Award, 2009 Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival
~ Best Documentary Award, 2009 Morelia International Film Festival, Mexico
~ Maysles Brothers Documentary Award, 2009 Belfast Film Festival
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