Mia Bungard
In this interview, Mia Bungard, founder of Bungard Film AB, discusses her journey of entrepreneurship and creativity in film. Since launching her business in 2015, Mia and her husband have navigated the challenges of language barriers, economic difficulties, and the impact of pregnancy and post-partum on their careers.
Despite setbacks, including a miscarriage and the demanding nature of her job, Mia persisted, directing and releasing her first feature film while pregnant. She shares her experiences of promoting her film, the challenges of post-partum recovery without family support, and her determined return to work after maternity leave and a pandemic. Mia is also a devoted mother to a 5-year-old son.
Interview Questions
Can you share your journey of entrepreneurship from the time you decided to start your business to where you are now, considering the significant milestones of trying to conceive, pregnancy, and post-partum?
I founded my company with my German husband in Stockholm, Sweden. Apart from language and culture barriers, the main economic difficulties we faced were around conception, post-partum and day care.
The fact that being a freelancer exempts you from sick leave, forced me to stay away from projects after my first miscarriage, loosing clients and credibility and forcing my husband to take on the main load. Also making me feel less professional since I took around 4 weeks off projects, feeling a deep grief that barely let me function.
My job is very stressful and it implies, carrying gear and traveling often. I had to downsize my capabilities in the company as I got pregnant again. I was very scared of having a second misscarriage so I avoided carrying weight, flying and taking on too much work load to avoid stress. That affected me economically again, but it didn’t affect my husband, as he continued to grow and took assigements as normal. As a consequence, his earnings kept growing as mine kept shrinking. Also, leaving me with a lower maternity-leave pay.
Before entering the world of film, I was a musician. I only had a couple of years of experience wrting film and developing projects when I founded with company. A few years later, I felt ready to jump into authorship. "If you want to be a director, direct”-my mentor told me- What I didnt’t know is that pregnancy would take away 80% of the director I could to be.
As I started directing and filming my first feature, I got pregnant. It was April 2018.
I was releasing my film in October 2018. My whole pregnancy consisted of working intensively with my project to meet the deadlines and falling asleep every single day on my desk, after being diagnosed with acute nausea for the first trimester. I was unable to eat a whole meal, I felt dizzy and sick all day long for around 4 months. Around August I caught up with work and again and sacrificed paid jobs “in the investment of publishing a project of my own”that could give me better opportunities.
I released my first film two months before I was due. I took the last flight I was allowed to take and I toured the film with a huge belly, interrupting a talk to go the bathroom. I felt clumsy and fat, not the stage woman I wanted to be.
After the flight, I had some medical complications with tension, so I had to slow down and really take a sick leave until I was due. From bed, I continued to promote the film and write, until the last day.
I had the privilege of giving birth in Sweden. Birth is not regarded as a sickness. I was sorrounded by wonderful midwives who empowered me to give birth and after 21 hours, Anton arrived to our lives.
Sweden allows you to take 1.5 years of parental leave. That is expectional, when it’s splitted but it was my husband’s career that had grown and he was making more money than I was. Hence, he went back to work only 11 days after birth and I took all the days of parental leave on my own.
Post partum came with the added difficulty that I had no one to help me. As a foreigner, all I had were a couple of friends, but no family help around. My husband’s career kept growing as I set my auto reply," I’ll be back to the office on March”. He also travelled for work and my post partum was the loneliest time of my life.
Nothing prepares you for that.
I was confident that giving birth and post partum recovery was the most difficult thing I had to do, so after that nothing really scared me as much. Anton was barely 12 weeks, when I was invited to a prime time TV Show in Spain to promote my film. I wet my blouse with milk during the interview, because my baby was hungry on backstage. I acted normal.
Promotional tours are for business. I lost many collaborations and opportunities, one after the other, as I was saying to everyone “I’m taking a year off but I’d love to call you then”. AS IF THAT WAS BUSINESS.
I went back to work in 2020. After an eternal maternity leave and a pandemic. Companies seem to have forgotten about me. People had changed careers and companies. I knocked at every single door. I made all the phone calls there were to be made. And I found that everyone had moved on without me.
I felt my promising career in film was broken.
What were the unique challenges you faced as a female entrepreneur while going through the process of trying to conceive, pregnancy, and post-partum? How did you navigate these challenges?
I educated myself in navigating hormones and matrescence. I started with therapy and I read about a thousand books on how to keep it together. Also, as a interviewer, I interviewed mothers of all ages. I was trying to understand motherhood and it helped me a lot to see that all mom’s struggles turn into infinite power.
How did you manage your business responsibilities while dealing with the physical and emotional aspects of pregnancy and post-partum recovery?
I let my partner handle the communications in times of emotional crisis. He made excuses for me, sometimes, hiding my pregnancy from clients. I now think that was wrong.
Did you experience any changes in your entrepreneurial mindset or approach during pregnancy or after becoming a mother? If so, how did these changes manifest?
I feel very empowered. After my kid started going to day care, almost from day one, I started to organize my mind. What do I want to do. What interests me. Who am I now. What makes me happy. Where is my expertise now.
What support systems or resources were most beneficial to you during your journey as an entrepreneur navigating pregnancy and motherhood?
Paid maternity leave and all the Swedish benefits. Specially the public baby centers where exhausted lonely parents gather and don’t really talk but feel seen. Also my mom, and the podcast of Janet Lansbury, “Unruffled”.
Reflecting on your experience, what are some successes or achievements in your business that you attribute to your journey through trying to conceive, pregnancy, and post-partum?
I definitely owe self discovery to motherhood. My business is now picking up again since I rebranded what I do. I moved from film maker, to Creativity expert and that second one seems to have a bigger audience and impact.
Conversely, what were some of the biggest obstacles or setbacks you encountered as a female entrepreneur during this period? How did you overcome them?
As I explained above, I coulnd’t handle being an entrepreneur and a mother. I chose motherhood and it just killed my carrer.
In hindsight, what additional support or resources do you wish you had access to during your journey through entrepreneurship while being pregnant and a new mother?
I really enjoy all the zoom lessons that have helped me with navigating hormones, motherhood and self dicovery.
How did you balance the demands of entrepreneurship with the needs of your child during their early years? What strategies or techniques proved most effective for you?
No strategy works 100%. Children change constantly. Something works today and it doesn’t work tomorrow. And same goes for moms. One day you’re ok, one day you can’t handle more. You never learn how to balance it to perfection, but what I know is that putting all the things together and working with our self steem and all the tools you have, is the best blessing. Prioritise "self care, time and space". The three doors to creativity and productivity and also the three doors to being a person. Sleep as much as you can. Delegate. One can’t separate "motherhood from businesshood” but we must take very good care of ourselves to be able to handle both.
Looking ahead, what advice would you offer to other female entrepreneurs who are either considering starting a family or are already juggling entrepreneurship and motherhood?
Go to bed early. Get off social media while pregnant already. Read about adrenal fatigue. Embrace, embrace, embrace. You can’t control everything. Make room for yourself. It’s not about perfection, it’s about handling today. Tomorrow will be another day. Be grateful for all the good things and the more you practise this, the more privilege you’ll feel. Be yourself, talk your mind, be clear, be truthful and compassionate. Both your kids and your company, need a confident leader. Not an indestructible one, not a magazine model, neither a rich mom. They just need you to be in peace with yourself. If you are, everything else will fall into place.