Zero Dark Thirty D.C. Premiere Target of Anti-Torture Protesters

Group stands outside theater to speak out against the depiction of torture in film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden

Anti-torture protesters made their presence known at the premiere of Zero Dark Thirty in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night.

Wearing matching orange jumpsuits with black hoods covering their faces, the group stood in close proximity to the red carpet as the film's director, Kathryn Bigelow, and the movie's screenwriter, Mark Boal, made their way into the Newseum theater.

The protesters, affiliated with Amnesty International, were there to express concern over the film's depiction of torture, with one group member holding up a sign calling it a "Pentagon-sanctioned movie," according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Inside, Bigelow spoke to the audience and insisted that she and Boal "had no agenda in making this film and were not trying to generate controversy. Quite the contrary."

The protest occurred just one day after Bigelow accepted awards for Best Director and Best Picture at the New York Film Critics Circle ceremony, where she defended the film for including torture scenes.

"I thankfully want to say that I'm standing in a room of people who understand that depiction is not endorsement," she told the audience of critics and media.