Instagram story viewer> @dashdonato> Tagged

Dash Donato

@dashdonato

3.3K

followers

1099

following

Filmmaker * Story Coach * Enneagram Teacher * @thegreatnowwhat @soundunseenaustin

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

60

6

I attended a couple of days of the Sound Unseen, the film festival for music fans, this weekend at Austin Film Society Theater. I caught two movies, Sara Bareilles: Good Grief and BP Fallon: Rock'n'Roll Wizard. Both were pretty good. My highlight was the Kickass Shorts Block. Mama Duke's video was amazing, and the short film - Las Hijas de Rosalia was a sweet ode to a single mother's legacy - very touching.

27

0

When your friends are cool and run a music themed film festival! Highlight of the day, getting to introduce @mama.duke to the work of @ninachanel! Originally I got these Nina x Perrotin Converse Chuck 70 HI’s for my wife but they’ve become one of my favorite pairs to wear when I want to start some conversations. 💙

#sneakerhead #soundunseen #oohlala #artists #conversationstarters

58

5

The untold story. Unless of course you’ve asked.

#SoundUnseenAustin #SoundUnseen # SUATX2026 #independentfilm #independentmusic

118

31

Sculpture Commission
Anniversary edition
2026

Here’s a peek inside the build process.

#handmadepottery #sculpturalceramics #rawline #matteblack
@phoenix_pottery
@dashdonato
@hnevill

27

4

Earlier this month, the director, producer, and editor of The Great Now What met up to watch the first cut of the film in person on the big screen!

We are so excited to bring this bold, life-affirming and unexpectedly funny film to the world soon!

Stay up-to-date on our progress by joining the email list on our website. Link in bio!

Many thanks to @hyperrealfilmclub for hosting us!

The Great Now What
Director @dashdonato
Editor @kpmiracle
Cinematographer @mrcooger
Producer @maggiewhittum

Image description:
Producer Maggie Whittum, Director Dash Donato, and Editor Kenny Miracle stand together, smiling in front of a movie screen that says HYPERREAL Film Club. Maggie has a colorful cane in her right hand. Dash wears sunglasses.

#DisabledFilmmaker
#BrainInjury
#StrokeSurvivor
#IndieFilm
#RepresentationMatters

13

4

🌟Meet Director/Producer Dash Donato! 🌟

Dash Donato (they/she) is an award-winning filmmaker and writing coach based in Austin, Texas, where they spend most of their time toggling between existential reflection and choosing their favorite breakfast taco.

Her films have screened at hundreds of festivals worldwide (Cannes American Pavilion, SXSW, Tribeca, Outfest, 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) 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 they use story, as a map back to yourself. Their 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.

🎬 Something I didn't expect to learn from making this film 🎬
“I didn't expect this film to change how I live in my own body. Maggie asks in the film: "This is my body, my one and only lifetime partner. Am I at war with it, or at peace with it?" I've spent most of my life at war with mine; its shape, its pain, the way it refuses to perform femininity or masculinity cleanly. Over ten years of making this film, I've moved from contempt to peace to gratitude.”

Crowdfunding NOW - Stroke Awareness Month!

#DisabledFilmmaker
#StrokeAwarenessMonth
#BrainInjury
#DisabilityInMedia
#RepresentationMatters

Image description in comments

41

2

Y’all, we start crowdfunding for post-production on FRIDAY! Would really love your support as we near the finish line for our film @thegreatnowwhat. Working on this project with Dash Donato has been an extraordinarily rewarding artistic endeavor.

Can’t wait to share it with you all soon. ❤️

The Great Now What
Director @dashdonato
Editor @kpmiracle
Cinematographer @mrcooger
Producer @maggiewhittum

#StrokeSurvivor
#FilmmakersWithDisabilities
#DisabilityInMedia
#RepresentationMatters
#Inclusion

Image description:
Two women with short hair sit with their backs to the camera on a red couch. One is in purple, one is in black. There is a massive light in front of them, with a grid of netting. (if you want to get real technical with the specs, it’s an Aputure (1200d Pro) with a Light Dome 150 with diffusion and grid on it.)

41

1

AI ethics are surprisingly fun when you’re surrounded by brilliant women. Who knew? (we did)

Keep an eye out for the next one! Maybe coming to a city near you. 😉

Where should we take the AI Ethics Social Club next?! 👇

#ai #aiethics #startup #founders #womeninbusiness

50

16

I had a great screening with my new friends for the rough cut of a new indie documentary we are making - The Great Now What - about Maggie’s struggle to reclaim her life after having a stroke.

This unexpectedly funny film explores vitally important themes around grief, ableism, femininity, and the healing power of art & friendship.

We’re still in post production, so if you want to support the project in any way then reach out to me!

15

2

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! Join us to discover how your Enneagram type shapes your life story, starting with an inciting event that sets your personal narrative into motion, what happens when you’re triggered, and how awareness opens the door to change.

Community Gathering: Discovering Your Inner Narrative
with Dash Donato & Evangeline Welch
Jan 15, 2026 • 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern
*Program Calendar LINK IN BIO*

During the one-hour gathering on Zoom with Dash Donato and Evangeline Welch, you’ll explore a new way of understanding your life: as a story with a beginning, a pattern, and the possibility of a rewrite. Dash, an award-winning filmmaker, writing coach, and Certified Narrative Enneagram Teacher, will guide you through a fresh approach to self-understanding using the same tools she uses to build compelling characters on screen.

In this session, you’ll explore the “story beneath the story” – an emotional moment that knocks you off balance (the Inciting Incident) and the quick, protective reaction that follows (the Substitute Desire). Through a blend of teaching, humor, and a memorable movie example, you’ll learn how these two moments can shape how you move through the world.

#enneagram #narrative #narrativeenneagram #filmmakers #community

35

4

🚨 NEW PROGRAM ALERT: Join us in one month!

Led by award-winning film director, screenwriter, and Certified Narrative Enneagram Teacher Dash Donato, this workshop is for anyone who wants to step out of autopilot and begin rewriting those scripts. You'll uncover limiting patterns and practice rewriting your narrative to reclaim deeper worth, belonging, and creative freedom.

Your Life as a Movie: Rewriting the Narratives that Shape Us
with Dash Donato
Tuesdays, February 3 - 24 | 4 - 5:30 pm PT

Join live or register to receive the recording. (Become a member to save $30!)
*Program Calendar LINK IN BIO*

#enneagram #narrativeenneagram

36

1