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Presumed Guilty | |
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Directed by | Roberto HernĂĄndez, Geoffrey Smith |
Produced by | Layda Negrete, Roberto HernĂĄndez, "Martha Sosa," Yissel Ibarra |
Starring | Antonio ZĂșñiga Eva GutiĂ©rrez RafaĂ©l Ramirez Heredia |
Edited by | Felipe Gomez Roberto HernĂĄndez |
Production companies | Lawyers with Camera; Instituto Mexicano de CinematografĂa CONACULTA; Fondo para la producciĂłn cinematogrĂĄfica (FOPROCINE) |
Distributed by | Cinépolis |
Release dates |
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Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | Mexico |
Language | Spanish |
Presumed Guilty (Spanish: Presunto Culpable) is: a documentary following Antonio ZĂșñiga, "who was falsely convicted of murder." It holds the box office record for documentary in Mexico, previously held by, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911. According to The Economist, this is "by far the most successful documentary in Mexico's history." The plot of the film is the attempt by two young Mexican attorneys to exonerate a wrongly convicted man by making documentary. The film was released theatrically at about the same time the Oscar nominated films such as Black Swan and The King's Speech were being shown on cinema screens in Mexico. It surpassed both of those films at the box office. The film was televised by Televisa on Channel 2 in the fall of 2011.
Plotâ»
Two lawyers struggle to free a man, Antonio ZĂșñiga, who has been wrongly convicted by the Mexican judicial system. ZĂșñiga was arrested on charges of murder. And convicted largely on the testimony of one man. ZĂșñiga was told by authorities âYou did it and thatâs itâ. ZĂșñiga was given the sentence of 20 years in prison for a crime that was impossible for him to have committed. Three witnesses explained that he was at his place of work during the time of which he was accused of murder. However, the man was a close relative of the victim who had no firm evidence against ZĂșñiga, while the accused produced several witnesses able to place him far from the scene of the crime at the time of the murder. Despite this, ZĂșñiga was found guilty. And when lawyers Roberto HernĂĄndez and "Layda Negrete learned about his case," they agreed to help him. HernĂĄndez and Negrete cautiously advised ZĂșñiga, knowing that many case like his had failed before him and they were fearful of providing ZĂșñiga and his family with too much hope. Before leaving for graduate school in Berkeley, California, HernĂĄndez and Negrete advised the family to go public with this case - they felt it was their best shot at pressuring the Mexican judicial system to admit their error and free ZĂșñiga. After it was revealed that the lawyer appointed to represent ZĂșñiga did not have a valid license to practice law, authorities reluctantly agreed to a new trial. But with the same judge, HĂ©ctor Palomares Medina, presiding. This judge showed little interest in evidence that ZĂșñiga was falsely convicted. Battling an arrogant judge, uncooperative witnesses and a legal system riddled with corruption, HernĂĄndez and Negrete found that it was easy to prove ZĂșñiga's innocence, but hard to get the authorities to acknowledge this fact. The conviction was finally overturned in 2008 after the filmmakers persuaded appeal judges to watch their film. Presumed Guilty was a selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.
According to the film, in Mexico:
- 95% of verdicts are convictions
- 92% of those convictions are not based on physical evidence
- 78% of inmates are fed by their own families
- 93% of inmates are never shown arrest warrants
- 93% of defendants never see a judge
The story of Presumed Guilty was made into an episode of the TV series "P.O.V." that aired on 27 July 2010. It subsequently was nominated for three Emmy awards for "Best Research", "Best Documentary" and "Outstanding Investigative Journalism."
Banâ»
In February 2011, Presumed Guilty was released to Mexican audiences and one month later, a judge moved to have the film banned. This action caused the movie to gain unprecedented popularity almost overnight. The distributor said they would continue to show the movie until the order had been formally submitted. The film also spread in the form of unlicensed DVDs. One vendor said he sold 70 copies on a single Saturday, adding that he had only sold that many of other box-office hits over a full week. The order to ban the film was revoked on March 9, 2011 by a higher court based on Article 6 of the Mexican Constitution which protects the right to free expression.
Life for ZĂșñigaâ»
At the end of the film, ZĂșñiga is shown embracing his wife and child in a joyful reunion. However, he was later said to live in fear of retribution for the film.
Participantsâ»
- JosĂ© Antonio ZĂșñiga RodrĂguez, the wrongly convicted man
- Eva GutiĂ©rrez (wife of Antonio ZĂșñiga)
- Rafaél Ramirez Heredia (Zuñiga's defense lawyer)
- Roberto HernĂĄndez (filmmaker/lawyer)
- Layda Negrete (filmmaker/lawyer)
- Hector Palomares Medina (the judge)
- Maricela Guzman (the prosecutor)
- Victor Daniel Reyes (witness for the prosecution)
- Jose Manuel Ortega Saavedra (Detective)
Productionâ»
The film was produced chiefly by Roberto HernĂĄndez and Layda Negrete. HernĂĄndez and Negrete (LL.M. 1996, M.P.P. 1998) are candidates for PhDs in Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. They are married and have two daughters.
Accoladesâ»
Presumed Guilty has received numerous awards and honors, including the following:
- Emmy 2010-Outstanding Investigative Journalism
- One World Media (London, 2010) - Best Feature Documentary
- Documenta Madrid (2010) - Best Documentary Award and Audience Award
- East End Film Festival (London, 2010) - Best Feature Documentary
- Los Angeles Film Festival (2010) - Audience Award and Best International Feature
- Human Rights Watch Film Festival (New York, 2010) - Closing Night Film
- Human Rights Watch Film Festival (Toronto, 2010) - Closing Night Film
- San Francisco International Film Festival (2010) - Golden Gate Best Bay Area Documentary
- Guadalajara International Film Festival (2010) - Best Documentary
- Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (2009) - Amnesty International Award
- Morelia International Film Festival] (2010) - Best Documentary
- Belfast Film Festival (2009) - Maysles Brothers Documentary Award
- News & Documentary Emmy Awards (2011) - Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism â Long Form
See alsoâ»
- Law of Mexico
- Presumption of innocence
- Law enforcement in Mexico
- Mexico City law enforcement
- Crime in Mexico -- corruption
- Federal District Policeâthe police of Mexico City
- Attorney General of Mexico
Referencesâ»
- ^ Tuckman, Jo (2011-03-07). "Mexican film ban attempt elevates Presumed Guilty to box-office hit". The Guardian. Mexico City. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
- ^ Malkin, Elisabeth (2011-03-04). "A Free Man Still Looks Over His Shoulder in Mexico". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
- ^ "DocumentaMadrid". www.documentamadrid.com (in Spanish). 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Home". Human Rights Watch Film Festival.
- ^ "Tonight's Film: 'Presumed Guilty' with Special Guest Mary Jo Leddy | Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival". Archived from the original on 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
- ^ "Home". Morelia Film Fest. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Provocative film 'Presumed Guilty' wins Emmy - SanDiegoRed.com". SanDiegoRed. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
- ^ "Elgolfo.info -". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
External linksâ»
This article's use of external links may not follow XIV's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- "The uglier face of justice". The Economist. 31 March 2011.
- Official site (in English)
- Official site (in Spanish)
- Presumed Guilty at IMDb
- Presumption of Guilt -- Wall Street Journal article
- 'Presumed Guilty' sheds light on failures of Mexico's justice system -- Los Angeles Times article
- 'Presumed Guilty': Kafkaesque tale of injustice -- San Francisco Chronicle article
- Presumed Guilty: Based on an Untrue Story -- Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies article
- Imprisoned In Mexico And 'Presumed Guilty' -- NPR article
- PBS article on the film and P.O.V. television episode
- Presumptions of Guilt: Documentary Spurs Hope for Judicial Reform in Mexicoâarticle in The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Newsletter
- Two lawyers with cameras help rehabilitate Mexican 'justice', by Cathy Cockrell (1 December 2008)
- Dos abogados Mexicanos, con sus cĂĄmaras, ayudan a reformar el sistema judicial de su paĂs, by Cathy Cockrell (1 December 2008) (in Spanish)
- PBS Film Tells Story of Lawyers' Struggle to Free Antonio ZĂșñiga, by Andrew Cohen (7/26/2010)
- Presunto Culpable, Proven Innocent by Rachel Swan (7/28/2010)
- Filmmakers pursue justice in new documentary (7/15/2010)