A radically honest film about reclaiming your life after a stroke
SYNOPSIS
At 33, Maggie was an aspiring classical actress when a rare brainstem stroke shattered her future plans and everything she thought she was.
The Great Now What follows her decade-long journey from emergency brain surgery back to the stage—in a body that no longer obeys the rules she built her identity around. Drawing on years of self-shot recovery footage and raw video journals, the film captures the unvarnished reality of becoming disabled mid-life: the chronic pain, the isolation, the questionable self-worth, the bureaucratic grind of Medicaid, and the quiet devastation of mourning a self that no longer exists.
But this is not a recovery story. It's a demolition.
Maggie doesn't fight her way back to who she was, she dismantles the perfectionist scripts of shame and "abled" success that defined her, brick by brick, in real time. Through disability arts and transformative friendships with fellow disabled female creators, she moves beyond the myth of the miracle recovery toward something more radical: a complete reconstruction of self.
Her journey culminates in a high-profile performance in David Byrne's Theater of the Mind — not a return to the past, but a rebirth into the present.
STROKE STATISTICS
15 million people suffer a stroke each year worldwide.
Stroke is the #4 killer and the #1 cause of long-term disability in the USA.
There are over 7 million stroke survivors in the USA.
Stroke kills 2x as many women as breast cancer each year, yet breast cancer receives 2.5x the amount of research funding in the USA.
stroke is an acquired brain injury.
over 3 million people have a stroke or brain injury every year in the usA.
Only 10% of stroke survivors make a full recovery.
Strokes in young people in the us are on the rise – 1 out of 3 three strokes each year are in a person under 50.
Thoughts of suicide are higher in stroke survivors as compared to those with heart attack, diabetes, or cancer.
DISABILITY STATISTICS
80 million Americans (1 in 5, 20% of the population) have a disability of some sort.
Less than 3% of characters in Film and television are people with disabilities.
80% of DISABLED characters in film and television are played by non-disabled actors.
Nearly 1 in 3 people with a disability lives in poverty in the us.
almost 70% of people with disabilities are unemployed. Among the unemployed, 2 out of 3 want to work.
Cast & Crew
Director, Producer: Dash Donato
Dash Donato is an award-winning filmmaker and writing coach based in Austin, Texas, where she spends most of her time toggling between existential reflection and choosing her favorite breakfast taco.
Her films have screened at hundreds of festivals worldwide (Cannes American Pavilion, SXSW, Tribeca, Outfest, etc) and she's built a career telling stories that live in the tender space between pain and possibility. Her feature debut Gossamer Folds earned a GLAAD Media Award nomination and Best New Director at the Brooklyn Film Festival. She co-wrote the queer rom-com Signature Move (SXSW premiere), directed the Telly-winning docuseries Behind the Drag, and her short Spunkle won the Emerging LGBTQ+ Filmmaker Award at Cannes before being developed with LuckyChap (Margot Robbie) and sold to Warner Bros.
A certified Enneagram teacher, Dash uses the framework the same way she uses story, as a map back to yourself. Her passion is blending film, psychology, and community healing into spaces where personal growth feels less like homework and more like creative play.
Producer (and subject): Maggie Whittum
Maggie Whittum is a filmmaker, theatre artist, disability advocate, public speaker and stroke survivor at age 33. She is executive producer and co-writer of ‘The Great Now What’, a documentary film on disability, loss and resilience. She recently acted in the acclaimed world-premiere immersive experience co-created by David Byrne, ‘Theater of the Mind’, produced by the Denver Center. She often performs with Phamaly Theatre Company in Denver, which exclusively casts disabled actors. Previous theatre directing and producing credits include All in the Timing, The Zoo Story, Into the Woods and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She has directed and performed in the US and abroad. She also assistant-directed under Tony Award winner, Rebecca Taichman, and Peabody Award winner, Emily Mann, at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ, where she was named the Charles Evans Fellow. Commercial acting credits include: MapQuest, Samsung and Starz/Encore. Maggie speaks at conferences, universities, hospitals and medical schools about her story of stroke, disability and identity. She has spoken at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown Hospital and Craig Hospital, among others. Maggie is a proud member of FWD-DOC (Filmmakers With Disabilities) and The D-Word. Maggie is a RespectAbility (now Disability Belongs) Entertainment Fellow and a graduate of Colorado College.
Cinematographer: RoberT Muratore
Robert Muratore has worked professionally as a cinematographer for over twenty-five years, directing and co-producing several projects along the way. Aside from shooting several award-winning shorts, he has shot and co-produced the feature-length documentaries The People vs. George Lucas, The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus, Doc of the Dead, 78/52 (the American Society of Cinematographers named 78/52 in a list of ten films of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Standouts for its cinematography), and Memory: The Origins of Alien for his company Exhibit A Pictures. Within the last few years he has shot several other independent feature films, both narrative and documentary, all in different stages of completion. In between the many feature films and short subjects, he has photographed a multitude of commercial spots, non-profit shorts and promotional films.
consulting Editor: eileen meyer
Eileen Meyer is a film editor based in Los Angeles, CA. She has been nominated for Best Editing by the International Documentary Association (IDA), Critics Choice Awards, Cinema Eye Honors, and was awarded the competitive Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship in 2016. Her most recent work includes The Disappearance of Shere Hite (World Premiere 2023 Sundance Film Festival), Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain, (CNN/HBO) and the award-winning film Crip Camp (Higher Ground/Netflix), which won Best Documentary Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards and the IDA Awards, the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2021.
Other work includes Television Event (Doc NYC 2020), the Netflix Documentary Series The Devil Next Door, and Best of Enemies, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2016 and won an Emmy Award for Best Historical Documentary.
Editor: Kenny Miracle
Kenny Miracle is a story editor and videographer with two decades of experience creating award-winning independent documentaries that have been acquired by Netflix, premiered at Oscar-qualifying film festivals, and screened at the U.N. Most of his work focuses on critical issues like trafficking, child abuse, immigration, and homelessness. He has a passion for ethical filmmaking practices and human-centered stories that are often excluded from mainstream media. Kenny lives in Austin, TX with his three daughters.
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The Great Now What is fiscally sponsored by Denver Film, a 501(c)3. If you or anyone you know would like to make a tax-deductible contribution (and help us make this film a reality!) please click here.
Also, if your employer offers match grant donations and you would like to double your gift, please reach out to us at thegreatnowwhat@gmail.com and we can help you arrange a match grant!
WE WILL CROWDFUND FOR POST PRODUCTION STARTING MAY 1ST!
STAY TUNED!
Our film is nearly complete!
In February, we sent our rough cut out to select viewers to get some feedback as we are now in post production for The Great Now What! Here were some of the reactions:
“intimate, raw, honest”
“I seriously can't wait to share this film with everyone I know”
“the elements of humor were wonderful”
“I LOVED it”
“a testament to the value of the arts”
“deep joy that this film exists”
“a beautiful place that allows for hope”
“so real and rarely ever talked about”
“so refreshing”
“One of the best docs I've ever seen”
“Profound and incredibly relatable”
“What you’ve given us is without pity or inspiration porn”
The Great Now What was named a "Hot Film in the Making" by From the Heart Productions!
These films "have excellent concepts and brilliant filmmakers"
From the Heart Productions is dedicated to helping independent filmmakers with unique films that make a contribution to society get their films funded.
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