First Vote was screened as part of the AFI Docs Film Festival on June 19, 2020. Check the film's website for information on future distribution.
Asian Americans are a small percentage of the U.S. population but their numbers are rising — from less than a million in 1960 to more than 15 million today. As director Yi Chen shows in this engaging hour-long documentary, this ethnic group consists of diverse political activists from both Republican and Democratic groups.
First Vote is set during 2016 - 2018, the first two years of the Trump Presidency. Four well-educated upper middle-class Chinese Americans demonstrate their involvement in voting drives, protests, and traditional campaigning exercises and rituals.
Among the most colorful of these Asian American voters are Lance Chen, an assistant professor at the School of Business Administration at the University of Dayton who supports Trump, and Sue Googe, a Republican business woman who ran for office and lost but still maintains a high profile among conservatives. Both are avid opponents of socialism and one of them expresses support for JFK's anti-Communist perspective.
One of the most interesting moments in First Vote is when Trump's most loyal supporters are floored by his comments on the suffering caused by the "Chinese virus." Director Yi Chen shines a light on some of the surprises which promise to make this presidential election year quite different from any before it.