The film “Free Chol Soo Lee,” which covers the movement to free Korean American Chol Soo Lee, who was wrongfully imprisoned after being falsely accused of a gang murder in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1973, has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Documentary.
According to the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), “Free Chol Soo Lee” has been nominated in three categories for the 45th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards: Best Documentary, Outstanding Historical Documentary, and Outstanding Promotional Announcement. The nomination for Outstanding Promotional Announcement recognizes the teaser for the documentary.
Julie Ha, the director of the documentary, expressed her excitement in an interview with our publication on July 26, saying, “I was shocked to hear the news. Just being nominated for Best Documentary is overwhelming.”
She added, “This documentary was made possible thanks to the Korean American community. I owe it all to them for willingly sharing their photos, films, and stories.”
“Free Chol Soo Lee” is a documentary film that tells the true story of how the Asian American community united to demand Chol Soo Lee’s release after relentless reporting by Kyung Won Lee, the only Korean journalist at the time, brought the case to light.
Chol Soo Lee was released after nearly ten years. The documentary is currently available on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and MUBI.com. The awards ceremony will take place on September 26 at the Palladium Times Square in New York. According to NATAS, this year saw over 2,200 submissions, with more than 980 judges participating in the evaluation process.
BY NICOLE CHANG, YOUNGNAM KIM [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
