National Geographic Makes Oscar-Shortlisted Covid Doc ‘The First Wave’ Available For Free For Limited Window
19.01.2022 - 22:37
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: National Geographic is making the Oscar-shortlisted documentary The First Wave available for free for 48 hours, beginning tomorrow. Matthew Heineman’s film, shot in a Queens hospital as New York City endured the initial explosion of Covid, can be seen without commercial interruption through the ABC and National Geographic apps in the U.S., starting Thursday at 12:01 a.m. EST.
The free release marks the two-year anniversary of the first Covid-19 case in the United States to be confirmed by the CDC. The documentary also will be available for free during that two-day window through local ABC station apps in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Fresno, California. The First Wave will be preceded by a special message from Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, “addressing and thanking frontline workers and medical support staff,” who have selflessly cared for the ill from the outset of the pandemic.
“The First Wave is about many things, but, at its core, it’s about how human beings come together in the face of crisis,” Heineman said in a statement provided to Deadline. “I hope the film serves as an homage to the brave health care workers who have risked their lives on the frontlines of this ongoing pandemic. Now, almost two years into the crisis, they deserve our gratitude and support more than ever.”
Among the main characters in the documentary is Dr. Nathalie Dougé, an internal medicine physician at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, where Heineman and crew filmed for four months.
“This is a film every citizen of the world needs to watch to understand the stress health care workers are under,” Dr. Dougé said. “COVID-19 attacks without remorse