![]() Steve James produced and directed Hoop Dreams, winner of every major critics prize as well as a Peabody and Robert F. In English, Mandarin & Cantonese with English subtitles. The indictment and subsequent trial forces the Sung family to defend themselves – and their bank’s legacy in the Chinatown community – over the course of a five-year legal battle. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Mitchell Business of Cinematic Arts Programįrom acclaimed director Steve James ( Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, Life Itself), Abacus: Small Enough to Jail tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television.Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts It appeals to that general concept of what’s going on with this system. “Many people get indicted and plead guilty and don’t go to trial because they can’t afford to go to trial. “Our ending is a happy ending in that, even though we weren’t proven innocent, we were exonerated, but the sad part is the ending isn’t happy for a lot of people,” she said. Vera Sung added that while this country might have a criminal justice system that is better than others in the world, there are still many flaws. “Someone coming into the film might think ‘Oh! Finally a bank that is brought to justice’ but then they realize ‘Oh, that’s not that story.’” The Sungs in a still from "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" ![]() “Though, it’s not the one they expect to hear,” he added. For people who paid attention to that, this is a vital story for them to hear.” “Some even believe that now we are headed right back to that same situation with a lot of the big banks. “There were fines, and there was a bailout,” he said. James said that while he has received a large reaction from the Asian-American community while screening the film on the festival circuit, he believes the documentary is relatable and can reach other communities as well. “My mother feels like she’s gotten her face back, and we talk about that all the time,” Sung said. Prior to the indictment, Vera and Jill Sung - two of Thomas Sung's daughter who help run the bank - had fired a loan officer who had been altering mortgage applications to fraudulently qualify borrowers, according to the documentary, and reported the cases to authorities. “Just meeting the Sung family and getting a sense of what they had been through and what they were going through at the time is what really hooked me.” “When Mark, who was friends with Vera for 10 years and the family, first brought it to my attention - it was through his relationship with them that he was hearing about their case because no one was really writing about it in the mainstream media,” James said. James told NBC News what drew him to making this documentary was when Mark Mitten, the film’s producer, told him about the case and what the Sung family was going through. Eventually, they would be found not guilty of their charges. In the film, James follows the Sung family as they deal with the last months of the trial and await the jury’s decision.
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