Genre
Synopsis
THE GREAT NOW WHAT is a visually bold, emotionally intimate feature documentary about Maggie Whittum, a 33-year-old actor whose life is abruptly and violently interrupted by a cavernous angioma—a rare kind of stroke. In a single moment, she goes from finishing her first semester in an MFA program for classical acting to becoming permanently disabled. This film is not about Maggie’s “comeback”—it’s about everything that happens after. We follow Maggie over the course of a decade as she rebuilds her life, not to match what it once was, but to discover what else it could be. Shot across the dramatic seasons and mountain landscapes of Colorado, this film is a hybrid of vérité documentary, personal video diaries, and stylized theatrical reenactments that Maggie performs herself, ten years after the stroke that nearly killed her. Through Maggie’s raw and unflinching self-inquiry, we witness the collapse of identity and the slow, nonlinear process of recovery and rebuilding personal meaning. Alongside Maggie, we meet the people who walk beside her: Regan, a paralyzed theater director who mentors Maggie at a disabled theater company; Quána, a Black queer artist navigating chronic pain; and Lynn, Maggie’s hilarious sister and fierce healthcare advocate. More than a disability story, The Great Now What is an artistic act of resistance against invisibility, perfectionism, and normative narratives of recovery. It asks us to rethink what we value in a human life, and who gets to be seen as whole.
Bio
Dash Donato (they/she) is an award-winning director (D.G.A), screenwriter, and producer. Her feature directorial debut, Gossamer Folds, was nominated for “Outstanding Picture in a Limited Release Category” at the GLAAD Media Awards (2022), earned her “Best New Director” at the Brooklyn Film Festival, and is now available on AppleTV, Amazon Prime, and Vudu. They co-wrote the feature film, Signature Move, which world-premiered at SXSW and can now be found on HBOMax and most major streaming platforms. Her short film, Spunkle, won the Emerging LGBTQ+ Filmmaker award at Cannes and was adapted into a 30-minute TV comedy show and developed with Lucky Chap (Margot Robbie's production company). The pitch was later sold in the room to Warner Brothers in 2019. She directed a Telly-winning DocuSeries about drag culture, Behind The Drag, which showcases the real lives of American drag queens. Since 2015, their short and feature films have screened at hundreds of film festivals worldwide, including Cannes, SXSW, Tribeca, Outfest, Frameline, Sidewalk, and Bentonville. She has dedicated her work to the centering of people relegated to the margins. She’s earned a passionate following by telling stories that don’t shy from the unique struggles of female identifying and gender fluid folks, but focus on the power, resilience, and love they demonstrate in the face of them.
Credits
Maggie Whittum, Subject and Producer
Robert Muratore, Cinematographer
Eileen Meyer, Editing Consultant
Regan Linton, Subject
