Documentary About Chinatown Bank Vies For An Oscar

CHINATOWN, NY – A documentary about a small Chinatown bank — the only bank to face criminal prosecution in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis — is up for an Academy Award, one of five documentaries vying for the honor at Sunday's awards show.

The acclaimed documentary, "Abacus: Small Enough To Jail," follows the story of the Sung family, an immigrant family from China that opened Abacus Federal Savings in Chinatown. Abacus was the only U.S. bank that faced criminal charges after the 2008 financial crisis.

Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance accused the bank of mortgage fraud, launching a five-year legal battle before (documentary spoiler alert) the family-owned bank was eventually found not guilty in 2015.

The PBS documentary comes from the filmmaker Steve James, who also directed "Hoop Dreams" and "The Interrupters."

You can watch the trailer here:

"Abacus" will face off against another story from the NYC-metropolitan area on Sunday. The Netflix documentary "Strong Island" follows the story of the director's brother William Ford Jr., who was shot and killed on Long Island in 1992.

If you want to follow the fate of these documentaries or other Oscar nominees, Patch has rounded up some of the most interesting Brooklyn watch parties for you to view the awards the ceremony here.

Image credit: Courtesy of "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail