A deaf actor who plays a superhero on a TV show must look beyond the cape to inspire a deaf boy to believe in himself.

WHAT? is a black and white, silent (and signing) comedy about a struggling deaf actor, sick of agreeing to increasingly humiliating tasks just to get a role, who decides to take matters into his own hands.

In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. Reflecting on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language, Marlee explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer.