In 1970s San Francisco, twenty-year-old Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee is racially profiled and convicted of a Chinatown gang murder. Sentenced to life, he spends years fighting to survive until investigative journalist K.W. Lee takes a special interest in his case, igniting an unprecedented push for social action that would unite Asian Americans and inspire a new generation of activists.
Nearly five decades later, award-winning journalists Julie Ha and Eugene Yi excavate this largely unknown yet essential history in their riveting Sundance selection Free Chol Soo Lee. Combining rich archival footage, first-hand accounts, and narration drawn from personal writings, this poignant documentary paints an intimate portrait of the complex man at the centre of a movement and serves as an urgent reminder that his legacy is more relevant than ever.
