- Films and events
- Debate
- The First Wave
The First Wave
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, hospital staff found themselves on the front line. This essential film documents the first wave as experienced by New York City’s emergency medical workers.

-
Director
Matthew Heineman
-
Producers
Matthew Heineman, Jenna Millman, Leslie Norville
-
USA 2021. 94min
-
UK Distribution
Dogwoof
-
Language
English
-
Certificate
18
March 2020 saw COVID-19 spread rapidly through the West. Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, A Private War) follows emergency medical responders in New York City, risking their lives on the front-line as they confront the devastation wreaked during those first four months. Nurses hear endless pleas from patients who can’t breathe – words that would soon become synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd’s murder at the hands of the police. While huge protests are mobilised to counter systemic racism, in hospital wards the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Black and Hispanic communities is palpable. Health centres are overwhelmed and staff are exhausted and heartbroken. This is a searing and intimate portrait of the nurses and doctors caught in the eye of a storm and working with a heroic and inspirational commitment to care.
Sophie Brown
Contains scenes viewers may find distressing.
Calling all film fans aged 16 to 25! Book £5 tickets in advance to see this film on BFI Player with your 25 & Under account. Sign up now.
Access information
The BFI Player screening on Saturday 9 October will be presented with an audio-description soundtrack for customers who are blind or partially-sighted, and will have optional closed captions for customers who are D/deaf or hard of hearing.
You may also enjoy

A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces
Composed of exquisite wide shots, Shengze Zhu’s gripping, observational portrait of Wuhan offers a poetic reflection on the pandemic, set against the ever-changing Yangtze.

BURN IT DOWN!
Exactly 30 years after the original Woodstock, festival organisers attempted to replicate that summer of love vibe. However, times had changed and a new cultural zeitgeist raged.

Invisible Demons
An environmental disaster is brewing in New Delhi and this unsettling documentary details the profound impact of pollution and climate change.


BFI Membership
Become a BFI Member from £37 to enjoy priority Festival booking as well as other great benefits all year round.
Join today

Trailers and clips
A taste of what’s to come in the 65th BFI London Film Festival.
Watch clips and trailers