Oscar-nominated

"So the big banks just had their wrists slapped," Mitten added. "They were fined, but never charged with felonies, after we bailed them out with $700 billion of taxpayer money."

So, if the big banks were too big to indict, which ones were small enough? This is the question James and Mitten were compelled to ask in their insightful documentary.

The film shows the impact of the case on the Abacus bank owner, Thomas Sung, wife Hwei and their four daughters, Vera, Jill, Chanterelle and Heather.

"The Sung family is revered by the Chinese community they serve," Mitten said. "He started a bank to help people get mortgages and loans to expand their businesses when no other bank would, so he was always been looked up to."

He added, "Whenever you walked down the street with Mr Sung, whether you met first generation, second generation, or third generation Chinese immigrants, they were all honored to know him."

When asked by Xinhua if he felt Sung and his daughters were singled out because of their ethnicity, the director said, "I want to believe it was (the DA's) sincere belief that fraud reached up into the highest levels of the bank, but what clouded his judgment was a belief that there was an opportunity... to be a heroic DA and be the only one to bring a bank connected with the mortgage crisis to its knees."

"This was the perfect type of banking community for Cyrus to target, because he wouldn't have any concerns about political fallout. It's well known in New York that the Chinese immigrant community is not very politically engaged," James said.

"The DA thought they would be submissive because (the Chinese) don't stand up for themselves and wouldn't have the resources to fight back," Mitten said.

But, Sung and his family, determined to prove their innocence, decided to fight back. Sung told the press, "From a social justice point of view, it is our belief that our case should be an awakening call to the community that there are injustices in our society, even though we profess to be fair, democratic and just."

James was moved by the Sung family's plight when he met them. "Their decision to fight back, to save their bank and save their family name was inspiring. They were just such a compelling family: courageous, principled, funny and lively - ideal subjects to follow."

"It cost (the Sung's) $10 million and five years of their lives plus the toll it took on the family and particularly how Thomas aged over that time," he said.

"Now that it turned out the way it did, you can see a very different spirit about them," James told Xinhua. "There is a huge sense of relief, and joy."

The filmmakers have plans to distribute the film theatrically and via streaming online in China.

James visited China in 2009 as a VIP guest of the Beijing Film Academy at their International Documentary Conference in Beijing. "It was a great trip. Our hosts were lovely and we had some really great master classes for Chinese documentarians and students who wanted to get into the field."

He added, "There is such a rich tradition of filmmaking in China and the Beijing Film Academy is such a fertile birthplace for a lot of incredible filmmakers, including some incredible documentaries set in China that tell extraordinary stories that are highly regarded in this country, whether they are nominated for Oscars or not."

"It's important that everybody worldwide knows what happened. How the Sung's fought back, and how they won," Mitten said.