Dream, Girl — Redefining What It Means To Be A Boss
Written for CREATIV Magazine (Exclusive Interview)
Storytellers Komal Minhas and Erin Bagwell are catalyzing the latest shift in female entrepreneurialism. Smothered by the actuation of gender-bias in the corporate sector, Bagwell began diligently utilizing her outrage as a source of feminine empowerment. “The most powerful women in the world are those who not only understand these biases, but choose not to let them define them,” Bagwell shares.
“The creation of ’Dream, Girl’ all stems from when I became a feminist. I’ve always been interested in creating media and storytelling, but when I started to observe the cultural biases and gender roles society puts on women, I began to see how I, myself was conforming to them.”
The Wild and Wonderful Unknowns of Entrepreneurship
Rising above cultural propensities, Bagwell began activating a commanding network of gender-equality advocates. She enlisted the memoirs of women such as entrepreneurial icon Marie Forleo, business owner Clara Villarosa, CEO Nur-e Farhana Rahman and many, many more. Bagwell recalls it was “only a matter of time” before she realized how truly impactful these “pockets of women” could be and thus, Dream, Girl: The Documentary was born.
“The time was now to put the idea on paper and a film in motion. I called some of my favorite female entrepreneurs, enlisted the help of a few friends, and the rest is history,” she adds.
Soon thereafter, Bagwell launched a potent Kickstarter campaign calling for a new definition of “what it means to be a boss.” She sought to harness the raw stories of female entrepreneurs, addressing the “tough issues: not being taken seriously in their craft, verbal harassment and the way women are portrayed in the media.”
This caustic notion took hold, quickly catching the eye of businesswoman and social innovator, Komal Minhas. “I really got that sense of a tribe when I first watched the Kickstarter trailer,” Minhas explains. “Something clicked and I was like, this is right, this feels right.” Uniting forces with director Bagwell, Minhas joined the Dream, Girl crew as the producer on her first feature film.
In The Spirit of Girl Power
Pressing on in the spirit of “girl-power,” the duo assembled a production team to be reckoned with. Consisting entirely of women, this incredible crew was an extraordinary declaration of support for ladies behind-the-lens.
“Erin was the key behind bringing that group of women together. She had the dream of the ultimate production crew and making sure every aspect of this was female-fueled,” Minhas recalls.
“We saw how open the interviewee could be because it was only women in the room. They could talk about the sensitive subjects that we often stifle around men. It was like there was no topic we couldn’t discuss because this was a story that had to be told. That is why having the female crew was so critically important. For me personally, it drove the plate home: women supporting women will change the world.”
Also one of the film’s featured entrepreneurs, Minhas says her and Bagwell’s intentions extend far beyond current post-production. Amongst a weekly written series leading up to the film’s release, the Dream, Girl crew plans to “hit the ground running” with a global tour and future production company already on the horizon.
“We are just putting a name to what we’ve always done and that’s what this is about. Helping women realize that they have within them, the power to uplift themselves, their family and their community.”
Mere months away from a final debut, Minhas says the “dream team” is most looking forward to “getting this message right” and uplifting “every single person, man or woman, boy or girl who sees it.” Bagwell adds,
“This is a film that is being made because women and men donated their energy, passion for gender-equality and their money to get us funded. I feel so privileged to be making this film and have gotten such amazing support and love from our tribe. If you are thinking about taking that leap and starting your own company, we want to be your guides, give you that final little push into the wild and wonderful unknown of entrepreneurship. We want to take the passion and spark you already have within you and light it on fire.”
