Asha Dahya

Q&A with Asha Dahya - Founder of GirlTalkHQ.com

Asha Dahya is a producer, TEDx Speaker and writer with a huge amount of experience in the media industry. Most importantly, she is the founder of GirlTalkHQ - a platform whoso mission is to amplify and share stories of predominantly everyday women, girls and femmes. As one of the Curation Hour network members we were keen to interview her and learn more about her platform, the kind of content she is on the lookout for and the documentary she has been working on.

We’d love to get to know you further. What’s your professional background? And what have been the milestones leading you to set up GirlTalkHQ?

I am a producer, TEDx Speaker and writer by background. I have been in TV and digital media for almost 2 decades, working for networks such as ABC, MTV, Nickelodeon, Disney, CW, MSNBC, Nine Network Australia and more. I started GirlTalkHQ in 2012 while I was going through a huge transition in my career (moving away from auditions and delving into more behind-the-scenes roles starting with production assistant) as well as a divorce at the age of 29. It became a way for me to have a creative outlet, and create a digital community that I felt I lacked at the time, leaving a large conservative Evangelical church. I wanted to find other women and share stories of real women who had gone through difficult experiences like I was at the time.

What would you say GirlTalkHQ's mission is? How do you make a difference?

Our mission has continually been refined over the years, but essentially it is a platform to amplify and share stories of predominantly everyday women, girls and femmes. I would say we make a difference in seeing the power and potential in everyday stories. From GirlTalkHQ, I landed a book deal in 2019 and released a book in March 2020 (I know, WORST timing ever!) called Today’s Wonder Women: Everyday Superheroes Who Are Changing The World which contains 50 stories of everyday badass inspiring womxn. The mission of the book, and the platform itself, is for every reader to know that they can do the same, they have the power and resources to make a difference in their world and their community. The website and book are meant to be a guide on how you can step into your own power, starting with your story.

What do you look for when curating content for your platform? What are the areas and topics that you would love to see being explored?

I particularly love amplifying stories of women of color. I want to be known as a place that gives voice to those who are traditionally left out of mainstream media. I love publishing stories about entrepreneurship, artistry, filmmaking, activism, representation and more. We tend to stay away from straight beauty, advice, career stories. I am always looking for that extra “something”. What is it about your story that is going to inspire people? What are you trying to say? What is your empowerment angle? How does what you do shape your identity?

“ I want to be known as a place that gives voice to those who are traditionally left out of mainstream media”

You are currently also working on a short film, can you tell us more about it?

Yes! The film is called Someone You Know, and it is a short documentary about 3 women sharing their later abortion stories. People who get later abortions, a VERY small percentage of overall abortions, are some of the most highly stigmatized and attacked abortion patients. People get abortions later in their pregnancy because they either find out crucial pieces of information that they could not have known earlier (such as a fatal medical diagnosis about the fetus), or they have been pushed later into their pregnancy than they would’ve liked due to anti-abortion laws, barriers, fake clinics deceiving them with false information, and lack of access to an abortion earlier. This documentary is my way of shedding light on who these people are. They are your friends, colleagues, mothers, sisters, daughters. They are someone you likely know and love. All the interviews were filmed in the Summer of 2020 on an iPhone 11, and I am now in post production with an animator who is going to re-tell their beautiful and complex stories using powerful animated vignettes. I am also planning on doing a crowd-funding campaign to raise the remainder of my budget to complete animation, sound mix, music licensing and color correction. I hope to release this on September 28, which is International Safe Abortion day.

Can you share with us some useful resources for emerging film directors/talent?

I highly recommend Seed & Spark. They are known primarily as a crowdfunding platform (I have successfully launched one campaign with them and will be using them again) but they have expanded a lot over the years to partner with bigger organizations and offer so many resources for indie filmmakers. S&S have a bigger success rate than other crowdfunding platforms, FYI.

I would also recommend signing up for Film Independent’s newsletter (and becoming a member if you can!), as they always share about webinars, grant opportunities, panels with industry experts etc. They also offer Fiscal Sponsorship, which I am currently taking advantage of. It means that you can have a landing page for your indie project to share with people and solicit donations which are tax deductible. It is a great and supportive community to be part of. Through their emails, I am constantly learning about films and documentaries that they supported and are now winning awards at major festivals and ceremonies.

Any film directors and talent we should be on the lookout for?

My friend Ashley Eakin! She is super talented and is creating representation for other disabled directors and writers. I have known Ashley for many years, when we both worked as production assistants on ‘America’s Next Top Model’, and today she has work that can be seen on Apple TV+ and Netflix, and her short film ‘Roomates’ was shown at SXSW. She has been part of a number of director fellowships and is an outspoken advocate for writing stories that include more disabled characters, shows that include more disabled actors, and properly represent the lived experiences of people with disabilities. She is my hero and my friend!