Judge Censors Popular Mexican Documentary, Which Critiques Judiciary; Director Then Complains About 'Piracy'

Movie Industry

from the funny-how-that-works dept

SinkDeep alerts us to the news that a very popular Mexican documentary, called Presumed Guilty (Presunto Culpable in Spanish) has been censored by the courts, after one person who appears in the movie complained that he never gave permission. The movie itself is a documentary shedding some light on the Mexican judiciary, following the case of the wrongful conviction of Antonio Zuniga for murder, based on flimsy evidence. The complaint came from one of the witnesses in court, who claims he never gave permission to the filmmakers. The filmmakers claim that since he appeared at a public trial there was no need to get permission — and lots of people, including local and federal government officials are claiming that they disagree with the court’s ruling.

Apparently, some are ignoring the order to stop showing the film, and the entire film has shown up on YouTube, where its racking up plenty of views. On top of that, the censorship order has made the movie popular among people selling bootlegs.

Of course, SinkDeep also notes that even with all of this helping the movie get a lot more attention, the producers are complaining about this “piracy.” Apparently they’ve been complaining on Twitter that people shouldn’t watch the unauthorized versions, even as they’re fighting the courts who have censored the original version. On top of that, this morning, the director successfully issued a takedown to remove the film from YouTube. Of course, this seems like a perfect place where a filmmaker might encourage more people to see a movie, just as it’s been censored. It’s too bad the reaction is the same typical “but, but, piracy!” reaction.

Filed Under: censoship, mexico, movies, piracy