一定年龄的湾区本地人可能会回想起社会正义的推动，推翻了朝鲜移民乔尔·李（Chol Soo Lee）的谋杀罪，他被判犯有谋杀1973年旧金山唐人街的一名帮派领导人的罪名。
1970年代后期，萨克拉曼多联盟记者K.W.李接受了李·李（Chol Soo）的事业，揭示了起诉案中的许多错误和不一致之处，首先是，李（Lee）与证人对杀手的最初描述无关。经过多年的韩裔美国和亚裔美国人在加利福尼亚的基层努力，李的定罪被推翻了，他在入狱10年后被释放。
他从那以后过着幸福的生活，对吗？不完全的。令人着迷的新纪录片“ Free Chol Soo Lee”提醒我们，有时候，即使他不在监狱里，也可以仍然是囚犯。
这部电影引起了许多种族和社会正义问题的共鸣familiar to American society today,将于8月19日（星期五）从8月19日星期五开始在旧金山的罗克西剧院（Roxie Theatre）进行至少一周的比赛，其中包括9月17日（星期三）在8月17日定居一周的全国剧院。
由记者和电影制片人朱莉·哈和尤金·伊（Julie Ha）和尤金·伊（Eugene Yi）执导，他们通过视频聊天与《纪事》（Chronicle）交谈，在世界上首映Sundance Film Festival in Januaryand was the opening night film at五月的ca姆菲斯特。
哈，从她在洛杉矶的家中讲话，说她首先在参加Chol Soo Lee的葬礼在2014年，她作为记者介绍了这一点。K.W.的热情特别感动了她。李，她的导师。
“I knew he was in terrible (emotional) pain,” Ha said of K.W. Lee. “Being in that funeral space, I just felt there was an emotion there that was beyond grief and people mourning for somebody that they had lost. Many of the activists who had come to Chol Soo Lee’s aid years earlier were there. They were expressing so much deep regret that his life wasn’t happier, and that even though they had devoted so many years of their lives to try to free him from prison, still it wasn’t enough. That kind of depth of compassion and humanity really moved me.
“At one point, K.W. Lee got up and was lamenting, why after all these years is that story not (widely) known? This landmark Asian American social justice movement to free this wrongfully convicted man from prison? It wasn’t even taught in Asian American studies. That should be Asian studies 101.”
Lee’s troubled life contains many lessons. Although Ha and Yi began making the documentary in 2015, the film’s release comes at a time when not only social justice issues but反亚洲仇恨犯罪是头条新闻(Lee’s original conviction was based on witness testimony that, in his retrial, was considered racial stereotyping).
“I do think our film, in the broader conversation, exists as a little bit of a provocation in terms of criminal justice reform and Asian Americans,” Yi said from his home in New Jersey. “Why aren’t Asian Americans as involved in these conversations? This is an issue that ultimately affects all Americans. We need, as Asian Americans, to make ourselves more present in these conversations, and that could be very powerful.”
“自由chol soo lee”在湾区正义界包含许多熟悉的人物。J. Tony Serrawas part of Lee’s legal team during the retrial, and one of the activists,大卫·凯希巴（David Kakishiba），是东湾亚洲青年中心的执行董事，也是奥克兰前学校董事会成员。与李建立了亲密友谊的山戈（Ranko Yamada）受到启发，成为一名律师，以更好地继续她对行动主义和社会正义的热情。
雅马达在她位于伯克利家的单独聊天中说：“这是一种艰难的友谊。”“他就像那个您不同意的家庭成员，与您战斗的人，但您仍然支持并且不放弃。…他非常擅长与人保持联系并关心人。这不仅仅是要获得他们的支持。他真的很喜欢人们，并关心他们在做什么。”
Another activist who pushed for Lee’s release was futureSan Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi,who is seen in archival footage as a young man and decades later as a participant in the documentary. The film is dedicated to Adachi,who died in 2019.
扮演李的塞巴斯蒂安元的叙事是“自由chol soo lee”的最凄美元素之一。制片人苏·金（Su Kim）发现了尤恩（Yoon），他是肯·伯恩斯（Ken Burns）和林恩·诺维克（Lynn Novick）的纪录片《狱中的大学》。自发布以来一直与社会正义团体合作的Yoon为Lee的故事带来了深刻的同情。
“We were blown away by him,” Ha said. “He not only served as narrator, but he actually collaborated with us on the script and on the words Chol Soo Lee says in our film. He really helped us discover that it wasn’t just violence that Chol Soo Lee faced while incarcerated, but it was depression, loneliness, isolation and that kind of trauma that really had a profound effect on him even after his release.”
电影制片人说，元的参与有助于将现代观众与旧金山的故事联系起来，从很久以前到旧金山和美国 - 面临类似的挑战。
“Our film creates this sweep and allows us to connect this to this longer history of racism that Asian Americans do face in this country, particularly when the intersection of race and class come together,” Yi said. “I think there’s a source of great strength that people now can find as well, but particularly in our community, by seeing these images of Asian Americans in resistance.”
“Free Chol Soo Lee”(PG-13) screensWednesday, Aug. 17,at AMC Metreon, CGV Cinemas San Francisco, Regal Stonestown Galleria, Century 20 Daly City, AMC Bay Street Emeryville, Regal UA Berkeley, Century 20 Downtown and Redwood City Century 25 Union Landing and Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael. STARTS，8月19日，星期五，在S.F. 1617街3117号的Roxie剧院415-863-1087。www.roxie.com
Opening weekend Q&As with directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi:7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19; 6:40 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20; 3:45 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21.Roxie Theatre，S.F。3117街3117号415-863-1087。www.roxie.com