Cleveland International Film Festival } March 22 – April 1, 2023 } Playhouse Square

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ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL

Year: 2016
Country: United States
Language: English, Mandarin, Cantonese
Run Time: 88 minutes

When Thomas Sung moved to the U.S. from Shanghai, he had one motivation: to help people. As the small business owners of Abacus Federal Savings Bank, he and his daughters are able to serve the Chinese population in New York City’s Chinatown, many of whom have never used a banking system. When they discover an employee is stealing money, a whirlwind of investigations is set into motion that quickly escalates. The bank is indicted on humiliating accusations of mortgage fraud, making them the only U.S. bank dealt criminal charges in the 2008 financial crisis. At a time when the largest banking corporations in the nation are receiving massive bailouts for their damaging wrongdoings, six-branch, family-owned Abacus is fighting tooth and nail to defend their business reputation and Chinese community. ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL follows the grueling five-year court battle of the Sung family. The film raises serious questions about our court systems’ reasoning to doggedly pursue certain cases and completely neglect others. (In English, Mandarin, and Cantonese with subtitles) —A.B.

CIFF41 Screenings

Friday, March 31, 2017 at 6:10 PM

This screening is on Stand By.

Saturday, April 01, 2017 at 11:30 AM

Sidebars
PAN-ASIAN FILMS
RACE RELATIONS

Genre
Recommended for High School Students +

Competition
Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Competition

Director
Steve James

Born in Hampton, Virginia in 1954, Steve James is recognized as one of the most acclaimed documentary filmmakers of his generation. He regularly collaborates with the Chicago-based nonprofit production studio Kartemquin Films. His film "Hoop Dreams" was nominated for an Academy Award^® for Best Film Editing and recently selected for the Library of Congress National Film Registry.

Filmography
"Stop Substance Abuse" (1986), "Hoop Dreams" (1994), "Prefontaine" (1999), "Stevie" (2002)-27th CIFF, "Reel Paradise" (2005), "At the Death House Door" (2008), "No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson" (2010)-34th CIFF, "The Interrupters" (2011)-35th CIFF, "Head Games" (2012), "Life Itself" (2014), ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL (2016)

Producers
Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman

Cinematography
Tom Bergmann

Editing
David E. Simpson, John Farbrother

This film is presented with the generous support of ALISTAIR and JOYCE FYFE.

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ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL

CIFF41 Screenings