
Free Chol Soo Lee
7.2(14) 2022-08-12 83 minDocumentaryCrime
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.
DirectorEugene Yi
DirectorJulie Ha
ProducerEugene Yi
ProducerJulie Ha
ProducerJean Tsien
ProducerJo So-na
Original Music ComposerGretchen Jude
Cast & characters
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Chol Soo Lee
as Self (archive footage)
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Sebastian Yoon
as Narrator (voice)
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Ranko Yamada
as Self - Friend; Defense Committee
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K.W. Lee
as Self - Investigative Reporter

Jeff Adachi
as Self - Activist
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David Kakishiba
as Self - Activist
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Jay Kun Yoo
as Self - Chair, Defense Committee
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Grace Kim
as Self - Vice-chair, Defense Committee
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Warren Furutani
as Self - L.A. Defense Committee

Leonard Weinglass
as Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
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Josiah “Tink” Thompson
as Self - Private Investigator
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Gail Whang
as Self - Bay Area Defense Committee
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Jai Lee Wong
as Self - L.A. Defense Committee
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Mike Suzuki
as Self - Bay Area Defense Committee
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Me Yea Lee
as Self - Mother of Chol Soo Lee (archive footage)
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Leonard Tauman
as Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
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Tony Serra
as Self - Defense Attorney
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Stuart Hanlon
as Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
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Frank Falzon
as Self - San Francisco Police Dept. (archive footage)
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Sandra Gin
as Self - Reporter (archive footage)
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Sung Soo Yoo
as Self - Defense Committee
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Richard Kim
as Self - Professor, UC Davis










