Free Chol Soo Lee

Free Chol Soo Lee

2022
1h 23min

On June 3, 1973, a man was murdered in a busy intersection of San Francisco’s Chinatown as part of an ongoing gang war. Chol Soo Lee, a 20-year-old Korean immigrant who had previous run-ins with the law, was arrested and convicted based on flimsy evidence and the eyewitness accounts of white tourists who couldn’t distinguish between Asian features. Sentenced to life in prison, Chol Soo Lee would spend years fighting to survive behind bars before journalist K.W. Lee took an interest in his case. The intrepid reporter’s investigation would galvanize a first-of-its-kind pan-Asian American grassroots movement to fight for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom, ultimately inspiring a new generation of social justice activists.

Free Chol Soo Lee

Storyline

On June 3, 1973, a man was murdered in a busy intersection of San Francisco’s Chinatown as part of an ongoing gang war. Chol Soo Lee, a 20-year-old Korean immigrant who had previous run-ins with the law, was arrested and convicted based on flimsy evidence and the eyewitness accounts of white tourists who couldn’t distinguish between Asian features. Sentenced to life in prison, Chol Soo Lee would spend years fighting to survive behind bars before journalist K.W. Lee took an interest in his case. The intrepid reporter’s investigation would galvanize a first-of-its-kind pan-Asian American grassroots movement to fight for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom, ultimately inspiring a new generation of social justice activists.
    Released
    8/12/2022
    Runtime
    1h 23min
    Director
    Revenue
    $50,083
    Genre
    Status
    Released
    Language
    English
    Production
    XTR, ITVS, Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Cast
Chol Soo Lee
Self (archive footage)
Sebastian Yoon
Narrator (voice)
Ranko Yamada
Self - Friend; Defense Committee
K.W. Lee
Self - Investigative Reporter
Jeff Adachi
Self - Activist
David Kakishiba
Self - Activist
Jay Kun Yoo
Self - Chair, Defense Committee
Grace Kim
Self - Vice-chair, Defense Committee
Warren Furutani
Self - L.A. Defense Committee
Leonard Weinglass
Leonard Weinglass
Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
Josiah “Tink” Thompson
Self - Private Investigator
Gail Whang
Self - Bay Area Defense Committee
Jai Lee Wong
Self - L.A. Defense Committee
Mike Suzuki
Self - Bay Area Defense Committee
Me Yea Lee
Self - Mother of Chol Soo Lee (archive footage)
Leonard Tauman
Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
Tony Serra
Self - Defense Attorney
Stuart Hanlon
Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
Frank Falzon
Self - San Francisco Police Dept. (archive footage)
Sandra Gin
Self - Reporter (archive footage)
Sung Soo Yoo
Self - Defense Committee
Richard Kim
Self - Professor, UC Davis
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