With exclusive access to one of New York’s hardest hit hospital systems, Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award–winning director Matthew Heineman’s THE FIRST WAVE spotlights the everyday heroes at the epicentre of COVID-19 as they come together to fight one of the greatest threats the world has ever encountered. Leaving a devastating trail of death and despair, this once-in-a-century pandemic changed the very fabric of daily life and exposed long-standing inequities in our society. The “first wave” of COVID-19 ravaged New York from March through June 2020. With Heineman’s signature approach of character-driven cinema vérité, THE FIRST WAVE documents those harrowing first four months, embedding with a group of doctors, nurses, and patients on the frontlines as they all navigated the crisis. Their distinct storylines each serve as a microcosm through which we can view the emotional and societal impacts of the pandemic, and are a testament to the strength of the human spirit.

Matthew Heineman is an American filmmaker. He is best known for both directing and producing the documentary films Cartel Land (2015) and Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare (2012). He has been nominated for various awards, including an Academy and several Emmy awards.Cartel Land received positive reception and was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary. The film won three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking and Best Cinematography. In addition, Heineman won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary Award from the Director’s Guild of America, as well as the Courage Under Fire Award from the International Documentary Association “in recognition of conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth.” He was named one of Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinker's of 2015. Cartel Land was also presented with the 2015 Documentary Award by the prestigious George Polk Awards in Investigative Journalism.In 2014, Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare received a nomination at the 35th News and Documentary Emmy Awards in the category for Outstanding Science and Technology Programming.Heineman has additionally worked on documentaries Overcoming the Storm (2006) and Our Time (2009), which he produced and directed, as well as HBO's The Alzheimer's Project (2009). He has also directed several short films and commercials.