Barn Cinema Friday 16th Nov
17:00 ABACUS: Small Enough to Jail 90 mins
Director: Steve James USA 2016
BOOK NOW ONLINE THROUGH BARN CINEMA
Phone: 01803 847070 Open daily 12.30 – 7pm
E-mail boxoffice@dartington.org
The incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. 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.
With remarkable access to all the players in this complex story, the documentary creates an intimate portrait of the Sungs’ private and public struggles throughout the trial and its aftermath. Abacus keeps the Chinese community at the centre of the story and asks what the purpose of a bank should be in a community – especially an immigrant community – and whether the prosecution has larger implications for the role of banks in society.
