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NOW with Fiona

NOW WITH FIONA is an unscripted series hosted by Emmy®-nominated and award-winning filmmaker Fiona Dawson, who shares unexpected stories from the LGBTQ+ community of people being kind and courageous in the face of adversity.

In this WorldPride themed proof-of-concept show, Fiona finds voices of hope from the streets of New York City. Taking inspiration from the visionary gay politician Harvey Milk, and Kate, an indomitable Honduran transgender woman seeking asylum, Fiona demonstrates that we are all legends unto ourselves. The episode has versions in full English and full Honduran Spanish subtitles.

Later in the season, Fiona will explore stories from all facets of life through an intersectional lens, including Texans who empower LGBTQ+ youth to Morman families supporting their queer children. Fiona brings a vivaciousness, excitement and wit, while at the same time opening up dialogue that breaks down stigma and discrimination affecting the LGBTQ+ community.

  • Mindy Raymond (she/her)
    Executive Producer
  • Fiona Dawson (she/her)
    Executive Producer
  • Fiona Dawson (she/her)
    Director
    TRANSMILITARY (2018), TRANSGENDER, AT WAR AND IN LOVE (2015), MORE THAN HE KNOWS (2019)
  • Fiona Dawson (she/her)
    Producer
    TRANSMILITARY (2018), TRANSGENDER, AT WAR AND IN LOVE (2015)
  • Fiona Dawson (she/her)
    Writer
  • Fiona Dawson (she/her)
    Key Cast
  • Olga Vázquez (she/her)
    Cinematographer
    ASKING FOR IT (2020), TREASURE TROUBLE (2019), HOOKED (2019), STEALING CHANEL (2015)
  • Jeremy Harris (he/him)
    Second Camera
  • Borja Campillo Arribas (he/him)
    First Assistant Camera
  • Amanda Lundquist (she/her)
    Editor
    ASKING FOR IT (2020), PINKSY (2017), RETREAT (2016)
  • Jessie Auritt (she/her)
    Editor
    THE PAINT WIZZARD (2020), SUPERGIRL (2016), THE BIRDMAN (2012)
  • Beatriz M Calleja (she/her)
    Editor
    ROADS TO OLYMPIA (2019), PEQUENO (2015), DIE THE GOOD DEATH (2012)
  • Mark Degli Antoni (he/him)
    Score Supervisor
    CROWN HEIGHTS (2018), TRANSMILITARY (2018), GET ME ROGER STONE (2017) INTO THE ABYSS (2012)
  • Sydney Cordoba (they/them)
    Animators
  • E.G. Smyth (she/her, they/them)
    Animators
  • Anna Koutelas (she/her)
    Illustrator
  • Marc Nahas (he/him)
    Art Director
    Canadian Screen Awards 2019 & 2020: Art Direction, Design, Animation of Broadcast & Live Event Graphics | AfriCOBRA Documentary: Art Direction, Design | TV Land Awards Show: Art Direction, Design, Animation of Broadcast & Live Event Graphics
  • Jose C. Gorritti (he/him)
    Sound Recording
  • Chaim Rubenstein (he/him)
    Sound Recording
    PERSONA (2021), TESTAMENT (2021), LES NAZIS ET L'ARGENT (2021)
  • Tori Rice (she/her)
    Additional Camera
  • Stuck On On
    Post Production Facility
    CALL HER GANDA (2018), BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM (2019)
  • Project Type:
    Television
  • Genres:
    docu-reality, docudrama, educational, unscripted, hosted, series
  • Runtime:
    27 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 11, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    35,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Bentonville Film Festival
    Bentonville
    United States
    August 6, 2021
    World Premiere
    Jury Award
Director Biography - Fiona Dawson (she/her)

Fiona Dawson is an Emmy®-nominated and award-winning filmmaker. She is a proud bisexual, cisgender, immigrant, woman from the LGBTQ+ community who uses media to advocate for equality. Following her Emmy® nominated short New York Times op-doc TRANSGENDER, AT WAR AND IN LOVE, Fiona was honored by President Obama as an LGBT Artist Champion of Change and her feature documentary, TRANSMILITARY premiered at SXSW 2018 winning the Audience Award. Fiona is pitching her new hosted unscripted series NOW WITH FIONA, sharing LGBTQ+ stories of kindness and courage in the face of adversity. She loves to make good things happen.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I believe that thoughts become things and what you focus on is what you get more of, so if we want to achieve equality for all people, rather than “fighting hate” we should promote love. Given visibility is proven to decrease stigma and discrimination, my vision for NOW WITH FIONA is to share loving and hopeful stories on the largest, loudest, platform in the world.

From as early as I can remember, I’ve had an innate gentle curiosity to empathize and advocate for others. When I was twenty-one years old in 1998 I left my native country of the United Kingdom and spent 6 ½ months volunteering in Bangladesh. By the age of twenty-three I had emigrated to the United States and made my next home in Houston. In this Southern state I came out as lesbian, later re-identified as bisexual, and launched myself into LGBTQ+ advocacy. It was Oprah Winfrey’s competition in 2010 to win your own show that inspired me to conceptualize NOW WITH FIONA and move to New York City to pursue my media career. From there I pivoted to dedicate seven years advocating for transgender service members and in the process became an Emmy® nominated and award winning filmmaker with TRANSGENDER, AT WAR AND IN LOVE and TRANSMILITARY.

Feeling the call to continue, my next move was to revive NOW WITH FIONA in 2019 through independent production. Today, I aspire to create this unscripted series to counter the negative narrative in news and instead uplift people with unexpected stories of kindness and courage. At the same time, my mission is to decolonize the worldview of gender and sexuality, starting with the LGBTQ community. I envision a day when all people are treated with equal rights, respect and responsibility. In this world that needs healing, educating and entertaining, I am more than ready to bring NOW WITH FIONA to fruition starting from Texas.

Written with love and in gratitude,
Fiona xo.