Julie Ha has worked as a journalist and storyteller for more than 25 years, with a specialized focus on Asian American stories. AN AMERICAN PRISONER (Working Title) is her first documentary film.
A Korean immigrant convicted of a 1973 Chinatown gang murder in San Francisco inspires a landmark Asian American movement to free him. But after his release, the ex-con descends into a life of addiction and crime, exposing the lasting scars of a man still struggling to break free. AN AMERICAN PRISONER (Working Title) explores the tension between man and symbol, identity and idealism, through the lens of one man’s turbulent life.