STORY
Setting
Lynden is a small Dutch Reformed farming town tucked in the northwest corner of Washington state. Surrounded by stunning snow capped mountains, fields of berries and pastures, Lynden is isolated from its progressive neighbors, Vancouver, B.C. to the north, and Seattle to the south. The town prides itself on conservative, Christian values, and once held the distinction of having the most churches per capita in the United States. With a population of roughly 15,000, Lynden has an unusually high amount of international adoptions from African countries, almost exclusively by White Evangelical families.
In 2016, Donald Trump captured the heart of Lynden with an eventful campaign rally, after he was not welcomed in any other town in Washington. Lynden is roughly 85% white and voted for Trump in 2016 with near identical numbers. Over the next four years, as American politics became increasingly more toxic and a “nationalist” pride intensified around the country, divisions among Lynden began to peak at the beginning of 2020.
“When we moved here, somebody told us ‘People in Lynden are very friendly, but they’re not looking for friends.’”
– Marcus
Synopsis
In July 2020, the small, conservative, majority-White town of Lynden, Washington, faces its first-ever racial justice march. After church leaders and conservatives mobilize, nearly 1,000 people attend, half of whom are Trump-supporting counter-protesters, with many carrying signs, guns, and American flags. Amid the tension, an organizer of the march stands on a bench and speaks through a megaphone: "My name is Amsa. I’m 17 years old, and I was adopted from Ethiopia by a White family. I’ve experienced racism growing up in Lynden."
Lynden follows Amsa over the next 12 months through her last year of high school, along with a cast of characters grappling with the fallout from the march. Among them is Wylin, a proud Christian Nationalist who attends every political rally in the region with his outdated camcorder to capture the “conservative movement.” Though Wylin and Amsa never formally meet, their paths cross several times in moments that highlight the ideological divides within the community. As tensions build towards the 2020 presidential election, Lynden captures a small town at a crossroads, striving to understand and heal its deep-seated divisions.
“Lynden is a very peaceful, clean town. People work hard. Mow their lawns. Put tulips in their garden. That’s how it is. And that offends some people. It ticks them off.”
– Wylin