Film & Talk: "Free Chol Soo Lee"
6:30PM
The story of Chol Soo Lee, a Korean immigrant wrongfully convicted of murder - and the Asian American movement which helped to free him. In 1973, Chol Soo Lee was arrested for the gang-related murder of Yip Yee Tak, a Chinese American man who had been shot to death in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Following a flawed investigation, which leaned on the eyewitness testimony of three white tourists, and no interviews with members of the local Chinatown community, Lee was wrongfully convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Free Chol Soo Lee traces the investigative work that Korean American journalist K.W. Lee began, and the national and then global Asian American movement that formed leading eventually to Chol Soo Lee’s release in 1983. The film then follows Lee after his release and the varied turns his life took.
In this time period especially, as Asian communities are challenging rising anti-Asian bias, attacks and more - this documentary about a pan-Asian movement across the US that successfully challenged racial profiling and injustice is an inspiring and relevatory program.
Join us for this Indie Lens Pop up screening in advance of its PBS screening in April, to see the film, hear from the directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi , producer Su Kim, activist Sooknam Choo, who was part of the campaign with moderator and activist Mitchel Wu, who was a friend of Chol Soo Lee.