First Vote Film Debut at The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

We sat down for a candid conversation with First Vote director Yi Chen to discuss her latest film project. Chen reminded us that while Asian American voters are the fastest growing ethnic collective in the United States, they are also among the least represented as elected officials. Their voices are rarely heard in major policy debates. For the filmmaker, these facts are more than statistical, they’re personal and, as she contemplates exercising her own right to vote, they become motivational. In First Vote, Chen chronicles her introspective journey into America’s battleground states. Exploring themes of immigration and identity, she engages in honest and revealing conversations with Asian American voters throughout our country’s most coveted districts in Ohio and North Carolina. Following the political participation of four Asian American voters, First Vote crafts an insightful look at Asian Americans' experience at the polls. For the full interview visit: www.youtube.com For tickets for upcoming screenings visit: https://caamfest.com/2020/movies/first-vote/

Director

Yi Chen is an Asian American filmmaker based in Washington, D.C. Her work has been supported by ITVS, Center for Asian American Media, Southern Documentary Fund, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Her film "Chinatown" aired on PBS station WHUT and won an IndieCapitol Award for Best Documentary Short. Yi was born and grew up in Shanghai, China. She immigrated to the United States after graduating as a first-generation college student. Yi has an MFA in Film and Electronic Media from American University.

Photos: Supplied