Presumed guilty was an official selection at the 2009 toronto international film festival. Rafael ramirez heredia, roberto hernandez, eva gutierrez. Based on a true story, its basically about the core elements of a family trying to stay strong while their son is in jail for a crime he didnt commit. Aug 19, 2010 the result is the 2009 documentary presumed guilty, a stirring and often shocking examination of the builtin failures in mexican justice. Presumed guilty is a terrific film gripping, shocking and quite illuminating. Pakula, and written by pakula and frank pierson, it stars harrison ford, brian dennehy, raul julia, bonnie bedelia, paul winfield and greta scacchi. Presumed guilty is a documentary following antonio zuniga, who was falsely convicted of murder.
While trial documentary presumed guiltys narrative arc is genuinely compelling and heartrending in its depiction of an innocent mans struggle to prove his innocence, the film at large only. Children of the bloods and crisp, made famous by the dennis hopper film. The title of the documentary captures a basic difficulty with the criminal justice system in mexico. It holds the box office record for documentary in mexico, previously held by michael moores fahrenheit 911. His brother comes on the scene and he hates her, then he isnt sure, then he hates and distrusts her. Director geoffrey smith and roberto hernandez, one of the lawyers. With no background in film, they set about recording his story as they realized that only a camera could. Presumed guilty is a pretty decent movie about one mans relationship with his father, and how adversity brought them closer together. Presumed innocent is a 1990 american legal drama film based on the 1987 novel of the same name by scott turow. With no background in film, roberto hernandez and layda negrete set about recording the. Presumed guilty presunto culpable 2011 rotten tomatoes. Presumed guilty the state of the mexican justice system. Jul, 2010 a documentary film by by roberto hernandez and layda negrete. This provided the film with a point of view never before seen in mexico.
Rent presumed guilty 2008 starring jose antonio zuniga rodriguez and eva gutierrez on dvd and bluray. In presumed guilty, hernandez and negrete join forces with filmmaker geoffrey smith the english surgeon, sfiff 2008 to forcefully expose the gross unfairness of the mexican courts merely by bringing cameras into zunigas appeal process. Presumed guilty is the story of two young lawyers and their incredible struggle to free tono. Festival screenings of presumed guilty presunto culpable in spanish have elicited tears and standing ovations. In september 2008, awardwinning director geoffrey smith the english surgeon, pov 2009. Festival screenings of presumed guilty presunto culpable in spanish have elicited tears and. Aug 24, 2011 french writerdirector vincent garenq gives a gripping account of the travails of a family man caught in a quagmire of false testimonies and legal blunders in this sensational true story of french. The plot of the film is the attempt by two young mexican attorneys to exonerate a wrongly convicted man by making a documentary. Their firstofitskind filming of zunigas case resulted in the chilling documentary, presumed guilty, which presents in gripping detail the harsh reality of mexicos trial system that is responsible for the almostroutine incarceration of innocent people. 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.
Presumed guilty, a 2008 mexican documentary film presumed guilty, a 2002 pbs documentary about the san francisco public defenders office presumed guilty, an episode of the tv series csi. The book had very good intentions and a portion of the plot. The documentary premiered internationally at last years toronto film festival and in mexico at the morelia film festival, where it won the best documentary award and left moviegoers cheering or in tears. The original title of this film was presume coupable, which translates to presumed guilty. Presumed guilty, a 2002 pbs documentary about the san francisco public defenders office presumed guilty, an episode of the tv series csi. Presumed guilty san francisco international film festival. I chose to read presumed guilty based on recommendations i received about this authors work.
Presumed guilty, a 2002 pbs documentary about the san francisco public defenders office. The book had very good intentions and a portion of the plot had potential. To many americans, the courtroom scene will look unfamiliar, lowtech and surprisingly. Smith, roberto hernandez, layda negrete, yissel ibarra, martha sosa. Presumed guilty the filmmakers website for presumed guilty contains additional content about the film, a list of upcoming screenings and a petition you can sign to stop the. While trial documentary presumed guilty s narrative arc is genuinely compelling and heartrending in its depiction of an innocent mans struggle to prove his innocence, the film at large only. Presumed guilty, a feature length hou r long documentary, is the story of two young law yers and their struggle to free zuniga. Read more news about presumed guilty from the star, canadas leading source for local and national news. Zunigas retrial, from november 2007 to february 2008, is the heart of presumed guilty. Presumed guilty was a selection at the 2009 toronto international film festival. Mexicans, who are aware of the dysfunction of their system, were still shocked by the picture of. In the process, they expose the contradictions of a judicial system that presumes suspects guilty until proven innocent. According to the economist, this is by far the most successful documentary in mexicos history.
Presumed guilty, the awardwinning, controversial u. The film narrates the true story of tono zuniga, a young man falsely accused of homicide. The result is the 2009 documentary presumed guilty, a stirring and often shocking examination of the builtin failures in mexican justice. Mexican documentary shot over three years following a wrongly convicted man, sentenced to 20 years in prison. Pakula, and written by pakula and frank pierson, it stars harrison.
Over the years shown in the film, leading up to his 2008 exoneration and release, hernandez, negrete, and zunigas legal team reveal the. Roberto and i had been doing statistical research into criminal justice in mexico, where the conviction rate is higher than 80 percent nationally. It is the story of a young woman accused of the murder of her lover. The conviction was finally overturned in 2008 after the filmmakers persuaded appeal judges to watch their film. His brother comes on the scene and he hates her, then he isnt sure, then he hates and distrusts her, then there is a spark between them. In february of 2011, we debuted presumed guilty in mexican theaters. This film is an eyeopener about a sad reality in my country, the unjust and. Two young mexican attorneys attempt to exonerate a wrongly convicted man by making a. Presumed guilty tells the heartwrenching story of a man who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Presumed guilty 2008, directed by roberto hernandez and. So they had to blur this characters face to continue to showcase the film. The awardwinning presumed guilty is the story of two young lawyers and their struggle to free zuniga. The 2008 constitutional amendment requiring the presumption of innocence and an oral trial signals an important opening for increased. Presumed guilty 2008 presunto culpable original title two young mexican attorneys attempt to exonerate a wrongly convicted man by making a documentary. Presumed guilty sheds light on failures of mexicos justice. Presunto culpable is a documentary following antonio zuniga. The bold documentary tells the story of banking corruption in switzerland and the countrys efforts to prosecute prominent individuals in an effort to win international. A camera that would be film ing zun igaus entire retrial. Based on a true story, its basically about the core. With no background in film, roberto hernandez and layda negrete set about recording the injustices they were witnessing, enlisting acclaimed director geoffrey.
Presunto culpable 2008 directed by roberto hernandez. Presumed guilty is almost an accidental documentary it wasnt meant to be a documentary. The result is a gripping courtroom drama in which the court seems nothing more than a busy. In presumed guilty, hernandez and negrete join forces with filmmaker geoffrey smith the english surgeon, sfiff 2008 to forcefully expose the gross.
In september 2008, awardwinning director geoffrey smith the english surgeon, pov 2009 was asked to recut the film with hernandez. Miraculously, presunto culpable finally hits theaters nationally in 2010, and the commotion and controversy caused is enormous, i mean, goddamn gigantic. The awardwinning presumed guilty is the story of two young lawyers. That happens to be the name of a 2008 mexican documentary that tells the story of an incredible miscarriage of justice in the mexican judicial system. Trials of antonio zuniga expose the nightmare of mexicos.
Jul 25, 2010 with no background in film, roberto hernandez and layda negrete set about recording the injustices they were witnessing, enlisting acclaimed director geoffrey smith the english surgeon, pov 2009. Then he loves her and goes out of his way to prove her innocence. Jul 27, 2010 presumed guilty, a film about zunigas plight, exposes a criminal justice system that often assumes guilt rather than innocence. The tragedy of the rodney king affair, a 1992 book by stacey koon. Zunigas retrial, which lasted from november 2007 to february 2008, is the heart of presumed guilty. Reviewed in the united states on september 9, 2008. The video is probably not viewable because there was a big legal controversy about the viewing of this documentary in mexico, where one of the persons shown claimed he was being defamated.
Festival screenings of presumed guilty presunto culpable in. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central. It may be that this is the first version of the documentary. Presumed guilty directors get exonerated cinema tropical. Visit today for national and local news and insights on topics that matter to. Presumed guilty sheds light on failures of mexicos. The conviction was eventually overturned in 2008 after the filmmakers persuaded the judges hearing the appeal to watch the. Roberto hernandez 2008 twee jonge mexicaanse advocaten proberen met een. Mexican documentary presumed guilty finds justice committee to. Mexican film ban attempt elevates presumed guilty to box. Rent presumed guilty 2008 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. The film was released theatrically at about the same time the. Mar 07, 2011 mexican film ban attempt elevates presumed guilty to boxoffice hit.