Close-ups on the night of anticipation in the 2020 US presidential elections

In anticipation of the United States presidential election in 2020, the filmmakers Ashleigh McArthur and Barna Szász enlisted friends, colleagues and a handful of recent film-school graduates in a unique filmmaking experiment to capture the night in as many locations as possible. The result is The First Tuesday in November, a short documentary that chronicles the nail-biting evening of Tuesday 3 November 2020 from the perspectives of eager onlookers across the country. Teaming up with 15 filmmakers across several states – including the crucial ‘swing states’ of Arizona, Florida and Georgia – McArthur and Szász strip each subject of their party affiliation, instead focusing on them as individuals with their own subtle reactions. Assembled as a series of intimate black-and-white close-ups, the film conveys the intense emotional experience of election-watching in the US, regardless of party affiliation.