{"id":670404,"date":"2026-05-28T16:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/670404\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T16:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:16:13","slug":"watch-trailer-for-sarah-mcbride-documentary-state-of-firsts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/670404\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch Trailer For Sarah McBride Documentary ‘State of Firsts’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: After Sarah McBride<\/a> won election in 2024 to represent Delaware in the U.S. House of Representatives, she became the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress. How did some members of the Republican majority greet her? By deliberately misgendering her and, under orders from House Speaker Mike Johnson, banning McBride from using women\u2019s restrooms in the Capitol and House Office Building.<\/p>\n

\n\tIf GOP leaders thought that would make McBride crumble, they were in for a surprise. The 35-year-old Democrat displays her mettle in the documentary State of Firsts<\/a>, directed by Chase Joynt<\/a>. The film opens theatrically on June 12 in Wilmington, DE, with New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Dallas, San Francisco and other cities to follow. Nationwide community screenings are planned following the theatrical release.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"'State<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tXTR\/Optimist\/Level Ground Productions<\/p>\n

\n\tWe have your first look at the film in the exclusive trailer above.<\/p>\n

\n\tState of Firsts follows McBride\u2019s campaign for Delaware\u2019s single at-large seat in the House.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOn the night that Sarah wins, so too does Trump, underscoring a nation intensely divided and sending Sarah to an increasingly hostile new workplace,\u201d notes a synopsis. \u201cImmediately after her victory, Sarah becomes the target of MAGA Republicans who ban her from using the restrooms in the Capitol, sparking national outrage and drawing attention to the escalating threats on trans people and trans rights. She is sworn in with a swell of optimism and support from her family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe synopsis continues, \u201c\u2026On the day of her first [House] floor speech, Sarah is misgendered and chooses not to react, but the second time this happens, she snaps back and goes viral. The film leaves her on the doorstep of her new job, facing high-stakes decisions under the pressure of the national spotlight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Rep.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRep. Sarah McBride in \u2018State of Firsts\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tXTR\/Optimist\/Level Ground Productions<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement, Rep. McBride said, \u201cThis is a candid exploration of my run for Congress and of proving that representation and effectiveness can go hand in hand. The only way to ensure that, while I may be the first, I\u2019m not the last is to be the best member of Congress I can be \u2014 not taking the bait, keeping the focus on my constituents, and governing in a compassionate and collaborative way. I hope it gives people a deeper understanding not just of the history we made, but of the work and responsibility required to turn representation into meaningful results.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe documentary is produced in association with XTR, Optimist, and Level Ground Productions. Producers are Jenna M. Kelly and Justin Lacob. Director Chase Joynt\u2019s credits include The Nest (2025), directed with Julietta Singh; Framing Agnes (2022), and No Ordinary Man (2020).<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Director<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDirector Chase Joynt<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Wynne Neilly<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSarah McBride faced enormous pressure as the target of politically-motivated hostilities and activist urgencies in her quest to become the first transgender member of congress,\u201d Joynt said. \u201cOur cameras had exclusive access to the volatility and vulnerability of this historic moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tChris McNabb edited the film; cinematography is by Melissa Langer. Executive producers include Bill Harnisch, Ruth Ann Harnisch, Chase Joynt, Chris Panizzon, Zackary Drucker, Shannon Hunt Scott, David Steinglass, Patty Quillin, Bryn Mooser, Matthew Cherchio, Zach Ingrasci, and Chris Temple<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring a panel discussion at the recent Sonoma International Film Festival in Northern California, Joynt and Temple \u2014 founder of production company Optimist \u2013 shared their thoughts about the project and McBride.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Speaker<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSpeaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) poses with Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) and members of McBride\u2019s family during a ceremonial swearing-in photo on the first day of the 119th Congress on January 3, 2025 in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto by Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe really rose above the mudslinging and the politics that was being put right in her face every single day as people discussed her body openly online and in the halls of Congress,\u201d Temple commented. \u201cI walked away from the experience with just such a deep, deep respect for her humanity and it was the kind of film that we said, \u2018Okay, how do we get this out in the world and make an impact?\u2019 And that\u2019s what we try to do with all of our films with Optimist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs a trans filmmaker who\u2019s been making films about trans life for a long time now,\u201d Joynt said, \u201cI have a set of rules for myself at this point in 2026, which is that I\u2019m not interested in making films that explain what a trans person is, for example. I\u2019m like, \u2018Get on board, you\u2019ll figure it out.\u2019 And so, in State of Firsts, I avoid the questions of \u2018What does being a trans person mean?\u2019 or \u2018What is the history of Sarah McBride\u2019s childhood that brought her to an understanding of her identity?\u2019 \u2026Instead, jumping into the present and recognizing that absolutely you\u2019re going to figure some things out about trans identity along the way, then we get to have a different set of conversations about trans life, which doesn\u2019t keep us stuck in a model of like, \u2018Wow, there\u2019s a person I\u2019ve never encountered\u2019 and \u2018What does that mean and where did they come from?\u2019 All those things go away and instead we get to pay attention to the things that she\u2019s saying.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tWatch the trailer for State of Firsts above.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: After Sarah McBride won election in 2024 to represent Delaware in the U.S. House of Representatives, she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[292549,292550,88,206,118273,292551],"class_list":["post-670404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-chase-joynt","tag-chris-temple","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-sarah-mcbride","tag-state-of-firsts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}