First Shift (film)

First Shift is a 2024 American crime drama film produced, written and directed by German filmmaker Uwe Boll. It follows a pair of mismatched police officers (played by Gino Anthony Pesi and Kristen Renton) during their first 12-hour shift dealing with violent crimes in New York City. James McMenamin, Daniel Sauli, Tamara Della Anderson, Brandi Bravo, and Garry Pastore are featured in supporting roles.

First Shift marks Boll's formal return to filmmaking after at least five years on hiatus from the industry, during which time he set up a now-defunct upscale restaurant in Vancouver and directed a documentary; as such, it is his first American film since Rampage: President Down. Filming on First Shift began and completed in March 2023, on location in New York City. Despite legal hurdles over allegations of unfair labor practices committed on set (which Boll denied), it premiered in his native Germany at the Independent Days International Filmfest, on April 10, 2024, and is scheduled for a wide release in the United States and Canada in September 2024.

Premise
Set in New York City, First Shift follows a veteran NYPD officer from Brooklyn who reluctantly agrees to take in a new female recruit from Atlanta as his partner. They spend the next 12 hours patrolling the city's dangerous streets dealing with violent crimes, one of which revolves around a mob killing that endangers their lives.

Production and release
On February 16, 2023, Variety reported that German filmmaker Uwe Boll was set to begin principal photography on First Shift in March, a crime drama he has described as his first feature film in at least five years, since Rampage: President Down. A March 31, 2023 Hollywood Reporter article announced that Boll had finished filming in New York City and had entered post-production in Los Angeles, California. Variety and THR each stated respectively that First Shift marked Boll's formal return to filmmaking after serving brief stints as a restaurateur and documentarian: following President Down, he went on hiatus to set up an upscale restaurant in Vancouver (now defunct) as well as direct a low-budget German documentary about the Hanau shootings. Variety noted that First Shift was one of three projects Boll had lined up for production since his return, intended to be filmed ahead of "a South Africa-set thriller" and an Eliot Ness biopic. The film would follow "two mismatched New York City cops on their first day as partners", with Gino Anthony Pesi and Kristen Renton cast as the police. THR said that First Shift would be a manifestation of his "kinder, gentler side" as a director: Boll has described it as the least violent film in his body of work. He also felt the need to include a subplot revolving around a lost dog (played by Pesi's pet dog, Tango), due to a lack of a "feel-good film" at the time. THR reported that the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) had filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against line producer Ari Taub and his studio Hit and Run Productions for alleged unfair labor practices on the set of the film. The complainants, which comprised a small group of crew members, alleged that the producers had intimidated them into not participating on a strike in an effort to unionize the film, contrary to NLRB's provisions. One of the complainants alleged that Taub had brought a prop gun to the set, to the surprise of the crew members who thought it was never part of the shoot, but this reportedly "ended without incident". Both Boll and Taub denied the accusations, with Boll calling them "completely baseless" and Taub threatening to countersue. Boll argued that the accusations were malicious attempts by disgruntled crew members to ruin him and his film after their demands to turn it into a union production were not met. In disputing the alleged prop gun incident, Boll said that he swore by "rubber guns", squibs, and digitally-added gunshots, partly as a result of the Rust shooting incident that caused the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins; this was corroborated by his German executive producer Michael Roesch. In addition, Boll said that he was contacted by PETA over a complaint from an anonymous source that Gino Anthony Pesi's dog was not taken care of during filming, which Pesi dismissed as a lie intended to be a last-ditch effort of the complainants to ruin Boll's film further, after having failed to extort him into unionizing it. Kristen Renton also defended Boll against the allegations.

Variety reported on October 30, 2023 that Quiver Distribution had secured the distribution rights to the film for the American and Canadian markets and "selected international territories" when Kinostar (which is handling its international sales) was presenting it at the American Film Market (AFM). The film premiered in Germany at the Independent Days International Filmfest, on April 10, 2024; it is scheduled for a wide release in the United States and Canada in September 2024.