Abacus: Small Enough to Jail - True/False Film Fest

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail

The Sungs were an all-American immigrant success story – until they were targeted in the 2008 financial meltdown.From the director ofThe Interrupters.
Director: Steve James
Runtime: 1:28
In-person: dir. Steve James
Fest Year: 2017
It may be in our nature to distrust banks. We were certainly given plenty of reason in 2008, as the towers of finance came crashing down in the subprime mortgage scandal. But, curiously, as the dust settled, it didn’t appear that any of the nefarious activity would actually be punished. Then charges were filed against one solitary institution: a family-owned bank in New York’s Chinatown called Abacus. The Sung family seemed to be an all-American immigrant success story, but were they really up to no good? Or were they scapegoated while the real offenders walked free? Steve James, the brilliant filmmaker behind Hoop Dreams and The Interrupters, takes us inside the boardroom of Abacus, where a tight-knit family unit prepares to fight for their livelihood, though not without some surprisingly typical internecine squabbles. (DW)