Marty had a heart condition that made her pass out every day. Adele was a cardiac alert service dog who could literally sense the beating of Marty’s heart and save her from fainting. They were the perfect team. They were soulmates. But nothing can last forever, and as the time comes for Adele’s retirement, Marty must figure out how to let go of her best friend and find a new partner who can take over the job of protecting her heart. With Adele by her side, Marty went from being unable to walk around the block without passing out, to leading an adventurous, joy-filled life as a wife, mother and artist. She doesn’t want to go back to how it was before Adele, but going forward is just as scary. The film follows Marty and Adele on the rocky, painful, but ultimately life-affirming journey to letting go.
Melissa Dowler is an award-winning film director and co-founder of production company Long Haul Films. Melissa is passionate about the subject of transformation, and her films explore how her subjects transform by overcoming adversity, engaging with their creativity and through the power of meaningful relationships. Adele and Everything After, Melissa’s debut feature documentary, tells the emotional story of a woman with an untreatable heart condition and the service dog who saves her life. The film premiered at the Cleveland International Film Festival and went on to garner multiple awards and was picked up for a release by Gravitas Ventures in early 2018. Melissa’s work has been screened on television, online and at events and film festivals including The Cleveland International Film Festival, IFF Boston, NorthWestFest, Chagrin Falls Documentary Film Festival and The Woods Hole Film Festival. Melissa also directs commissioned branded content which tells the stories of artists, entrepreneurs and inventors for companies such as Thomson Reuters, Highland Capital Partners, Siemens and Techstars. In 2015, fueled by her desire to encourage young women to consider careers in film, Melissa co-founded a volunteer organization called She Sees, which has a mission to inspire the next generation of diverse female filmmakers through education, mentorship and positive collaboration. The program is currently being piloted in Los Angeles.
