My SDI

Join us for an online screening of Presumed Guilty and a Q&A with director Geoffrey Smith on Friday 1st July, from 2pm BST. 

By RSVPing to this event, you will get access to the film for 48 hours before the Q&A and the Zoom link to join the live discussion. 

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 Tonio 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 Tonio. Shot over 3 years with unprecedented camera access to the court and prison systems in Mexico, this observational film is an incredible indictment of a system where the Police do not have to investigate because the system presumes guilt.

Following the release of the film in over 335 Mexican cinemas for 13 straight weeks, it spear headed a campaign to actually change the law in Mexico from presumption of guilt to presumption of innocence. In 2016 this momentous change took place, a change which saved thousands of young people from a life of rotting in prision for crimes they did not commit.

The film screened at Toronto International Film Festival 2009 and won several awards including the Emmy Award for Best Investigative Journalism 2011, Best Feature Documentary at Morelia Film Festival 2009 and Amnesty International Prize Best Documentary at CPHDOX 2009, among others. 

"A compelling story of international importance" - Variety

"One of the most buzzed about Mexican films in Years" - Hollywood Reporter