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At 33, Colorado native Maggie Whittum 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 Denver disabled female artists, 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.
David Byrne is a musician, performer, writer and multidisciplinary artist whose creative ventures have captivated audiences since 1975 when he co-founded the renowned group Talking Heads. Recent works include Here Lies Love, a musical with music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim (2023), Theater of the Mind, an immersive journey co-created by Byrne & writer Mala Gaonkar (2022/23), SOCIAL! at The Park Avenue Armory, the Broadway production of David Byrne’s American Utopia (2019) as well as the Spike Lee directed film version (2020), the launch of his Reasons to be Cheerful online magazine (2019) and the solo album American Utopia (2018). To date, Byrne has published five books including How Music Works (2012). He is also the Founder of the Arbutus Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to re-imagining the world through projects that inspire and educate. He is currently on tour with his new album Who is the Sky?
Documentary subject Maggie Whittum worked as an actor with David Byrne on the world premiere of Theater of the Mind in Denver, Colorado. Inspired by neuroscience research, the show takes you on an intimate and immersive journey inside how we see and create our worlds. Staged for sixteen audience members and one actor at a time, the show questions how our beliefs, memories, and identities are less fixed than we may think. Co-created by David Byrne and writer Mala Gaonkar, and produced by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Theater of the Mind received rave reviews in Denver and Maggie won a True West award for her performance as one of the Guides. Theater of the Mind is currently running in Chicago with a new cast.
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, deadCenter and more), 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) into a 30-min TV comedy and sold to Warner Bros.
Living with invisible disabilities (major depressive disorder, ADHD, and OCD) Dash has built a career telling stories for and about the people and experiences rarely taken seriously on screen. 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. Now pursuing a Master of Social Work at UT Austin, she's working toward community mental health spaces where expressive arts are central to healing.
Maggie Whittum is a filmmaker and theatre artist from rural Colorado. She is a disability advocate, public speaker, and stroke survivor at age 33. She won a True West award (formerly Denver Post Ovation Awards) for her performance in the world-premiere immersive experience ‘Theater of the Mind’, co-created by David Byrne and produced by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She often acts with the ‘disability-affirmative’ Phamaly Theatre Company, which only casts disabled actors. Other immersive work includes Third Rail Projects, Control Group Productions, and PATH Entertainment.
Maggie has directed and produced plays, musicals and improv comedy in the US and abroad. She assistant-directed under Tony Award winner Rebecca Taichman and Peabody Award winner Emily Mann at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, where she was named the Charles Evans Fellow. Commercial acting credits include MapQuest, Samsung and Starz/Encore.
Maggie has presented her medical story at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown and Craig Hospital among others. Maggie is a 3x RespectAbility / Disability Belongs Entertainment Fellow and a member of FWD-DOC and The D-Word. Maggie seeks to create projects that engender more empathy and compassion in American society for people with disabilities. She is keen to create more visibility for disabled talent and more projects helmed by disabled people. Maggie uses a cane to walk and lives with facial paralysis, visual impairments and chronic pain. Maggie is a graduate of Colorado College.
Robert Muratore is an award-winning cinematographer and producer whose work has screened at Sundance, Venice, and festivals worldwide. Based in the Rocky Mountain region, he has spent over three decades behind the camera on independent narrative features, documentaries, and shorts. Through his production company Exhibit A Pictures, Muratore has shot and co-produced a celebrated slate of feature documentaries exploring the mythologies of cinema and pop culture.
Chain Reactions took home the Black Lion for Best Documentary on Cinema at the Venice Film Festival. 78/52 (his deep dive into the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho that changed film history) was named a Sundance standout by the American Society of Cinematographers. Other credits include: The People vs. George Lucas, Memory: The Origins of Alien, Leap of Faith, The Taking, Lynch/Oz, and You Can Call Me Bill.
Whether turning the camera on George Lucas, David Lynch, or William Shatner, Muratore brings the same instinct to his subjects: a fascination with the artists and moments that shaped how we see the world.
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.
Kenny Miracle is a story editor & 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.
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!
Our crowdfunding campaign for post-production has ended!
Thank you to the local Colorado organizations that donated to our campaign!
https://seedandspark.com/fund/tgnw
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Denver Botanic Gardens
Paisley Park
Curious Theatre Company
RDGPhotography
Denver Film
Buntport Theater
Restaurant Olivia
Town Hall Arts Center
Theatre Artibus
Snooze
Phamaly Theatre Company
Enstrom Candies
Sam’s No. 3
Sweet Action
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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