actor

Free Chol Soo Lee

74 %|Aug 12, 2022|Documentary, Crime

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.

Featured Crew

Julie Ha
Director
Eugene Yi
Director
Jean Tsien
Editor
Aldo Velasco
Editor
Kathryn Everett
Executive Producer
Sally Jo Fifer
Executive Producer
Stephen Gong
Executive Producer
Julie Ha
Producer

Watch it on Stream!

actor
actor

Cast

actor
Chol Soo Lee
Self (archive footage)
actor
Sebastian Yoon
Narrator (voice)
actor
Ranko Yamada
Self - Friend; Defense Committee
actor
K.W. Lee
Self - Investigative Reporter
actor
Jeff Adachi
Self - Activist
actor
David Kakishiba
Self - Activist
actor
Jay Kun Yoo
Self - Chair, Defense Committee
actor
Grace Kim
Self - Vice-chair, Defense Committee
actor
Warren Furutani
Self - L.A. Defense Committee
actor
Leonard Weinglass
Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
actor
Josiah “Tink” Thompson
Self - Private Investigator
actor
Gail Whang
Self - Bay Area Defense Committee
actor
Jai Lee Wong
Self - L.A. Defense Committee
actor
Mike Suzuki
Self - Bay Area Defense Committee
actor
Me Yea Lee
Self - Mother of Chol Soo Lee (archive footage)
actor
Leonard Tauman
Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
actor
Tony Serra
Self - Defense Attorney
actor
Stuart Hanlon
Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
actor
Frank Falzon
Self - San Francisco Police Dept. (archive footage)
actor
Sandra Gin
Self - Reporter (archive footage)
actor
Sung Soo Yoo
Self - Defense Committee
actor
Richard Kim
Self - Professor, UC Davis