Clinique Smart Ideas in Partnership with TED Featuring Dream, Girl
Dreamers
There have been a number of really surreal moments on the Dream, Girl journey- our first day on set, releasing the brand new trailer, moving into our editing suite – but one of the biggest compliments we have ever received is when Clinique & TED called and asked us to share our story.
Now most of you are my favorite people of all time (our Kickstarter backers), and have seen so much of the backstory, but for our new friends following the Dream, Girl journey, you joined the ride as the film has been in motion. And while we are always dreaming big, our roots and this story begin way before a Kickstarter campaign.
It begins with a dream.
So when we were asked to reflect on that story and share it in video for these two powerhouse brands surreal isn’t even the best word to describe it — it was more like unreal. Komal and I just kept giggling and looking at each other like “can you believe this is happening?”
I got to see a crew of producers tell our story led by the fierce and unapologetic director Gilly Barnes. I was also able to share some details about the Dream, Girl journey I have never talked about before. I’d love to tell you that my interest in making a feminist film stemmed from a more positive place but the story of why I left my job before I started the Kickstarter campaign to launch Dream, Girl is a little less of a positive one. It’s been so hard for me to come to terms with this part of my story.
At my old job, I worked in a culture where verbal harassment was pretty regular and women weren’t given the same respect men were in the workplace. It was one of those old-white-men in-charge situations and it left me feeling depressed and insecure. To navigate this toxic culture and environment I tried to modify my behavior and started feeling less and less like myself.
I knew I needed a spark of empowerment and other examples of women crushing it, I just didn’t know where to look. So I started in my neighborhood and in my circles of friends asking them all – “what inspired them to be a feminist” and “who is inspiring them right now?”
Feminist Wednesday, my feminist storytelling blog was born and I was in love with the motivation I received from this incredible and personal platform. Then after working on the blog for a while, I had my heart set on being my own boss and working for myself full time. I didn’t quite know how to make that happen but I knew I should make an effort to strike out on my own before I lost too much of myself to my job. So I quit, and the idea for Dream, Girl came to me almost immediately. I knew it was time to chase my dream after being around so many inspiring women for the past year. I put my heart on the line, and thanks to your amazing support, I am truly living my dreams.
This video by TED & Clinique tells this story in such a meaningful and humbling way, and I am so honored to have our team be part of their “Smart Ideas” campaign.
As always thanks so much for your support- we can’t wait to share this film with you next year!
Xx,
Erin