First Vote

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SYNOPSIS

2021 Oscars eligible feature documentary FIRST VOTE is a character-driven vérité look at Asian American voter experiences in battleground states amid the increasing political divide since 2016. As the 2018 midterms approach, the filmmaker, a soon-to-be first-time voter herself, takes her camera on the road and travels to two of America’s most coveted Congressional districts in Ohio and North Carolina where she follows the political participation of four Asian American voters. In Ohio, after casting his first vote for Trump in 2016, a conservative podcaster Lance Chen commits himself to mobilize Asian American voters for Republican candidate Jim Renacci. In North Carolina, a progressive journalist Kaiser Kuo confronts the recent rise of “Chinese Americans for Trump” but his views have alienated his wife from her conservative friends. In North Carolina’s 4th Congressional district, Sue Googe, a real estate business woman and proud owner of an AK-47, courts voters for her congressional campaign at a Tea Party rally. At University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, critical race theory professor Jennifer Ho engages students on the subject of Asian American identity in the South. “The central question that I think all Asian Americans feel is, ‘Do we belong?’” As recently as 1952, federal law barred immigrants of Asian descent from becoming U.S. citizens and voting. The film explores the themes of immigration, identity and voting rights through diverse perspectives of Asian Americans, who are now the fastest growing eligible electorate in the United States.

REVIEWS

“Must-watch for anyone who cares about the upcoming election” – Documentary Magazine

“Beguiling and refreshingly non-partisan political travelogue” – American Film Institute

“Provocative” – The Moveable Fest

“Eye-opening. Expect to be shocked.” – Mercury News

“Intensely interesting” – AsAm News

“Not politics as usual. Expect to be surprised.” – Local News Matter

“Fascinating documentary…Strongly recommended…Filmmaker Yi Chen introduces us to four individuals in election battleground states Ohio and North Carolina, and we soon see a microcosm in one demographic community of the chasm in political perception that has imperiled the nation.” – Tom Keogh, Video Librarian

“FIRST VOTE is the perfect way to introduce students and the public to how broad trends in U.S. politics, such as political polarization and mobilization, affect small, but fast-growing segments of the electorate like Asian Americans. The film offers an important and unique window into ideological development and democratic participation in the U.S.” – Janelle S. Wong, Professor, American Studies, Government & Politics, Asian American Studies, University of Maryland

“What is so fascinating about FIRST VOTE is that this film requires us to interrogate the terms of assimilation and immigration, as well as the political stakes of navigating that strange civic terrain that ultimately renders you as strange too: a perpetual foreigner, a minority between black and white, and immigrant in search of claim in an America deemed a ‘battleground’ for the future of American democracy.” – Brian Hu, Assistant Professor, Television, Film and New Media, San Diego State University

This film will generate a great deal of discussion about identity, Asian-Americans in U.S. society, and American politics. It is suitable for a middle school to college classroom or community viewing in a public library or other settings. Highly Recommended.” – Timothy W. Kneeland, History and Political Science Department, Nazareth College of Rochester

AWARDS & FESTIVALS

2022 Telly Awards Bronze Winner
2020 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Special Jury Award for Art & Craft of Documentary Form
2020 CAAMFest
2020 AFI DOCS
2020 IDFA Docs for Sale
2020 Hot Docs Doc Shop
2020 Hot Springs Documentary Festival
2020 Hawaii International Film Festival
2020 Vancouver Asian Film Festival
2020 Asian American International Film Festival
2020 Boston Asian American Film Festival
2020 Austin Asian American Film Festival
2020 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
2020 DC Asian American Film Festival
2020 San Diego Asian Film Festival
2020 Nevertheless Film Festival
2020 Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival
2020 Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Fest
2020 DC Chinese Film Festival

SCREENINGS & PANELS

AFI Silver Theater
The Nightlight Cinema
Carolina Theater
AFI Docs: Getting Serious about Series
The Film Club by New American Economy
SXSW: Impact Global VOD
Film Fatales: Documenting Politics
University of Minnesota China Center
Berkeley Public Library
Colorado State University
University of Colorado Boulder
Chinese American Museum DC
Carolina Asia Center, UNC Asian American Center
Chinese American Museum of Chicago
Chinese Americans for Political Participation
Asian American Journalists Association
WORLD Channel: Meet the Makers
OCA National Summit
Plum Radio
APIAVote Presidential Town Hall
Bellevue College
National Association for Multicultural Education
Bowling Green State University
Democrats Abroad AAPI Caucus
Script DC