Free Chol Soo Lee poster

Free Chol Soo Lee

7.220221h 23m
DocumentaryCrime

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

Behind the scenes

Movie screenshots & stills

Free Chol Soo Lee still 1
CAST

The people behind the story

Chol Soo LeeSelf (archive footage)
Sebastian YoonNarrator (voice)
Ranko YamadaSelf - Friend; Defense Committee
K.W. LeeSelf - Investigative Reporter
Jeff Adachi
Jeff AdachiSelf - Activist
David KakishibaSelf - Activist
Jay Kun YooSelf - Chair, Defense Committee
Grace KimSelf - Vice-chair, Defense Committee

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