DocumentaryCrime
Free Chol Soo Lee
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.
Directed by Eugene Yi, Julie Ha, Kathryn Everett
72
User score
16 votes
Stream on
Status
Released
Released
August 12, 2022
Runtime
1h 23m
Language
English, Spanish, Korean
Top 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
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)
