Back

Feature film — 2022

Free Chol Soo Lee (2022)

7.21h 23mDocumentary — 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.

Watch now

The note

Stay for the details.

A high-signal pick with 16 votes.

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

Community reviews

What viewers are saying

Sign in to leave a review for everyone to see. Reviews are tied to your account so the community can trust what's shared.

Loading reviews…

Director: Eugene Yi

On screen

Cast & crew

C

Chol Soo Lee

Self (archive footage)

S

Sebastian Yoon

Narrator (voice)

R

Ranko Yamada

Self - Friend; Defense Committee

K

K.W. Lee

Self - Investigative Reporter

Jeff Adachi as Self - Activist

Jeff Adachi

Self - Activist

D

David Kakishiba

Self - Activist

J

Jay Kun Yoo

Self - Chair, Defense Committee

G

Grace Kim

Self - Vice-chair, Defense Committee

W

Warren Furutani

Self - L.A. Defense Committee

Leonard Weinglass as Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)

Leonard Weinglass

Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)

J

Josiah “Tink” Thompson

Self - Private Investigator

G

Gail Whang

Self - Bay Area Defense Committee

Similar titles

More like this