Access the Film

The First Wave will challenge what you think you know about the early days of the pandemic. 

Colleges, Universities and K-12: Watch The First Wave through your academic library with ProQuest’s Academic Video Online.

Academic Librarians/Faculty and K12 Librarians: 

• Start watching The First Wave now, if you’re an Academic Video Online subscriber.
• Don’t have access? Request a trial with this form.

University/College Students and K-12 Teachers and Students: 

• Start watching The First Wave now, if you’re an Academic Video Online subscriber.
• Don’t have access? Trial access to Academic Video Online can only be requested by librarians. Contact your academic library for access.

A la carte streaming license to The First Wave available now on FILM PLATFORM.

Public Libraries and Others

• The First Wave cannot be accessed for streaming through public libraries. If you are interested in hosting a screening of the film contact events@rocofilms.com.
• If you are not affiliated with a library, an academic or K-12 institution and want access to the film, contact events@rocofilms.com.

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Our Panel

Here’s a look at our panel who tackled vital issues and how faculty, students and libraries can cultivate a hopeful future through all we’ve learned.

Panelists include:

Matthew Heineman, Academy® Award-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker 

• Director, producer, director of photography, editor of The First Wave

Dr. Nathalie Dougé, the frontline doctor in The First Wave

• New York-based, board-certified physician in internal medicine
• A first-generation Haitian American, she is the first in her family to become a physician, receiving her medical degree from the Penn State College of Medicine

Our Moderator

J. Corey Feist, JD, MBA, President & Co-Founder, Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation

• Health care executive with over 20 years of experience
• Recently served as the CEO of the University of Virginia Physicians Group
• Adjunct faculty appointment at the UVA Darden School of Business where he recently taught a course entiled, "Managing in a Pandemic: The Challenge of COVID-19"
• The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation was instrumental in the passing of The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (2022)*

*The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, (HR 1667) aims to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, and mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals.

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About the Film

Watch the Trailer

With exclusive access inside one of New York’s hardest hit hospital systems during the terrifying first four months of the pandemic, Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning director Matthew Heineman’s The First Wave spotlights the everyday heroes at the epicenter 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 our daily lives and exposed long-standing inequities in our society. Employing his signature approach of character-driven cinema vérité, Heineman embeds with a group of doctors, nurses and patients on the frontlines as they all desperately try to navigate the crisis. With each distinct storyline serving as a microcosm through which we can view the emotional and societal impacts of the pandemic, The First Wave is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.