Sunday Screening – Presumed Guilty

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 Tono Zuniga in Mexico City: Presumed Guilty shows that 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 Tono. With no background in film, they set about recording his story as they realised that only a camera could reveal the institutionalized injustice they were witnessing.

Shot over threee years with unprecedented camera access to the Mexican court and prison systems, this observational film is highly dramatic and full of real suspense and a searing indictment of a system where the police do not have to investigate because the system presumes guilt.

Directed by Roberto Hernández and Geoffrey Smith
Duration: 86 mins
Release: 2009