First Vote is a character-driven verité documentary with unparalleled access to a diverse cross section of politically engaged Chinese Americans: a gun-toting Tea Party-favorite candidate courting GOP votes in the South; a podcaster in Ohio who became a citizen in order to vote for Trump; a long-haired journalist confronting Chinese Americans for Trump after moving to a battleground state; and a University of North Carolina professor teaching about race and racism in the US. The film weaves their stories from the presidential election of 2016 to the 2018 midterms, and explores the intersections between immigration, voting rights and racial justice.

Until 1952, federal law barred immigrants of Asian descent from becoming U.S. citizens and voting. Today, Asian Americans are the fastest growing population in the United States. More than 11 million Asian Americans will be able to vote in 2020. Directed by Yi Chen, a Chinese immigrant and first-time voter herself, First Vote is a rare long-form look at the diverse Asian American electorate.

A film by Yi Chen
Running Time: 60 minutes
United States, 2020, English and Mandarin Chinese, with English subtitles

Official Selections:
May 5, 2020, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, LA
May 15, 2020, CAAMFest, San Francisco
May 2020, Hot Docs Doc Shop, Canada
June 12, 2020, Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival
June 19, 2020, AFI DOCS, Washington, DC
July 9-12, 2020, Nevertheless Film Festival, Ann Arbor, Michigan
August 7-14, 2020, Hawaii International Film Festival

Thursday, Oct 8, 2020
Screening: 7 – 8:15pm
Q&A: 8:15 – 9pm

RSVP here

We would love to get your feedback on the film. We have a short survey and it would be great if you can fill it out: https://airtable.com/shrSYpNvMfT4YL4QI

Future screenings: https://www.firstvotefilm.com/screenings