Who we are
The journey to this film began over 10 years ago with the founding of Amazing Women in the Intelligence Community (AWIC), a grassroots organization now dedicated to serving thousands of women across the intelligence community. Out of that community grew the Iron Butterfly Podcast, the first podcast sharing stories from women spies, revealing just how many extraordinary women had shaped history from the shadows. When we picked up the camera, our goal was simple: to dismantle the cheap Hollywood tropes that reduce intelligence to gadgets, gunfights, and James Bond swagger.
Very quickly, the story evolved. What started as a quest to correct misconceptions became a tribute to the most powerful women the world has never heard of. These women showed us that intelligence is a discipline built on empathy, diversity, trust, and shared purpose. They revealed a different model of power that feels especially urgent now, at a moment when women’s rights and democratic values face rising resistance.
Telling stories from the shadows is not easy. Many of these women spent their careers mastering secret-keeping and silence. Bringing their experiences into the light required patience, deep trust, and the understanding that storytelling is an exercise in shared power. But they trusted us, and they trusted the community that has supported this project from the beginning.
We often call this film “community property.” It belongs to the women who lent us their stories, to the friends and champions who stood behind them, and to every viewer who has ever wondered who truly keeps a democracy running. The world deserves to know these women.
Our Core Creative Team
Megan Jaffer
A former intelligence professional turned filmmaker, Megan leads with heart and power, creating spaces where people feel seen and brave. Her path spans industry and nonprofits and includes years supporting the intelligence community, always in service of honest, human storytelling. Her superpower is radical listening, steady empathy, and fearless creation. She champions women of every age and stage, inviting them to claim voice, take risks, and lead with love.
Producer/Director
Cadie Hopkins
A former intelligence officer turned filmmaker, Cadie is a true entrepreneur, having founded multiple companies, non-profits, and communities, nearly all dedicated to supporting powerful women throughout their journey. Her superpower is creating something from nothing, seeing beauty in difference, and putting people at ease so they can be their most authentic selves. She is passionate about power, the systems that shape it, and our deep-rooted ability to reclaim it.
Producer/Director
Farrah (Farhana) is a nine-time Emmy Award–winning former war correspondent, documentary producer, and director and narrative storyteller whose storytelling explores what it means to be human, to feel, to connect, to be transformed and stitch us together through love, resilience, and shared humanity. She believes the power of stories can create the power of change, inviting us to see the world and each other as a bridge between who we are and who we can become.
Executive Producer