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Free Chol Soo Lee

Free Chol Soo Lee

  • Overview
  • Cast
  • Crew
  • Recommendations

Status

Released

Release Date

Aug 12, 2022

Runtime

1h 23m

Genres

Documentary, Crime

User Score

73%

Original Title

Free Chol Soo Lee

Production Companies

XTR, ITVS, Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)

Director

Eugene Yi

Revenue

$50,083

Description

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.