FIONA DAWSON
Fiona Dawson was inspired to start her own production company after seeing Oprah launch OWN Network in 2010. “This opportunity spoke to my soul,” the award-winning director recalls. “I realized if I could do anything with my life, it would be to host my own show sharing positive stories of kindness and courage, especially from the LGBTQ+ community.” So, Dawson quit her corporate job— resigning via PowerPoint over drinks in a queer bar (“the best corporate exit ever!”). And she launched what was to become Free Lion Productions. “I didn’t know how it was going to unfold, nor how I’d make it succeed,” she says, “but I knew if I didn’t try then I wouldn’t be living within my purpose.” Fortunately, Dawson did succeed, first with The New York Times Emmy-nominated op-doc Transgender, at War and in Love. It was followed by the award-winning feature documentary film, TransMilitary, which debuted at South by Southwest in 2018. She’s also the author of the Amazon best-seller Are Bisexuals Just Greedy? Animated Answers for All People Who Simply Want to Understand the Spectrum of Being LGBTQ+, and she was honored as part of Out magazine’s Out100 in 2022. Through her multimedia brand NOW with Fiona, Dawson shares content that centers uplifting LGBTQ+ narratives. The most rewarding aspects of her work are the “magical moments…when people privately tell you that your work made a positive difference in their lives,” she says. “Knowing that our work at Free Lion Productions is reaching a diverse spectrum of people and bringing them together is the best reward I could ever hope for.”
What Do You Think?