“It’s not my responsibility to educate you,” one partner tells another in First Comes Love: Nakabingwit, “and, also, we’re in a relationship.”
The complexities of interracial dating fuel this documentary about looking for love in real life. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) released the trailer for First Comes Love: Nakabingwit ahead of its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) and POV has the first look. This film from director Joella Cabalu observes three couples—Veronica and Mathilde in Montreal, Justine and Dom in Toronto, and Rhea and Eric in Vancouver—as they navigate love in a mixed-race relationship. But the film brings a sense of humour and a dash of sweetness, making something of a rare breed for the doc crowd: a rom-com rooted in reality.
Each relationship features a mixed Filipina-white partnership. That means that in addition to learning the usual dynamics of a meet-cute encounter, the couples have to confront what it means to forge a relationship when the parties looking for love inevitably have different life experiences, social privileges, and cultural backgrounds.
Mixing an eye for 1990s’ rom-coms and contemporary reality dating shows, First Comes Love provides intimate access to three relationships in their formative stages. The documentary also gives a frank glimpse of the discomforts and hard truths that are part and parcel with mixed raced dating, but also the rewards that come with confronting tough love on honest and authentic terms.
First Comes Love: Nakabingwit has its world premiere at VIFF on Oct. 3. It then plays at the Reelworld Film Festival on Oct. 25.
Watch the trailer for First Comes Love: Nakabingwit below:
