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State of Firsts
State of Firsts
State of Firsts

State of Firsts

$375.00

 

    • Directed by: Chase Joynt
    • Released: 2026 (educational)
    • Year of Production: 2025
Running Time: 93 min
Language: English
Subtitle Options: English Closed Captions
Subjects:  US Politics, Gender Studies
       
         

Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender congressperson in American history. An advocate for equality, she made headlines after coming out while working at the White House and being the first trans person to speak at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. As a Delaware state senator, she passed trailblazing laws on paid family leave and health care. Now in Congress, she’s rallying against anti-trans violence and fighting for a more just, inclusive America for her constituents.

State of Firsts is a portrait of Sarah’s historic campaign to become the first openly trans Member of Congress, the backlash she faces, and her fight for progress amid rising political extremism. With unprecedented access, this feature documentary follows the day-to-day realities of her groundbreaking run, weaving powerful glimpses of her past to reveal Sarah as an emerging political leader in a moment of heightened opposition to the trans community.


 

Official Selection at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, 2025 DC/DOX Fest, and 2026 Sonoma Film Festival             

" When McBride isn’t answering the director’s questions and when Joynt is able to fade into the background, the documentary, which asserts little visual style other than fly-on-the-wall presence, is able to witness moments that showcase the unguarded McBride. Family gatherings and backstage meetings show McBride’s vulnerability, dorky sense of humor and general passion for the political process. Much more than when she’s making statements or espousing messages, it’s these glimpses that allow State of Firsts to pack an emotional punch when she fields a congratulatory call from President Biden, hugs a trans constituent, or briefly takes in the joy that her parents and siblings feel as they walk down the hall on her first day at the Capitol." - The Hollywood Reporter

          

About the filmmakers
            

Chase Joynt is a non-fiction filmmaker and writer who works at the edges of genre. His documentary features THE NEST (with Julietta Singh) and STATE OF FIRSTS both premiered in 2025 at Hot Docs and Tribeca, respectively.

His documentary feature, FRAMING AGNES, was named a Best Movie of the Year by The New Yorker after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Innovator Award and the NEXT Audience Award. The film has played more than 100 festivals internationally and is distributed by Kino Lorber. With Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase co-directed NO ORDINARY MAN, which was presented at Cannes Docs as part of the Canadian Showcase of Docs-in-Progress. Since premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, NO ORDINARY MAN has been hailed by The New Yorker as “a genre unto itself” and Indiewire as “the future of trans cinema.” For the CW, Chase directed episodes of TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES which are now streaming on Netflix; his episode Elliot from Season 2 won a Telly Award for directing.

He is the co-author of three non-fiction books: including the Lambda Literary Award Finalist YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE with Mike Hoolboom and BOYS DON’T CRY with Morgan M Page. His latest book VANTAGE POINTS was shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust of Canada Prize for Nonfiction and named a Best Book of the Year by CBC Books, The Walrus and Autostraddle.

With Samantha Curley, he runs Level Ground Productions in Los Angeles and Toronto.



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