Bill Guttentag's most recent Angel Studios film, Rule Breakers, is based on the inspirational true tale of Roya Mahboob and the Afghan Dreamers.



Director Bill Guttentag compares his new film Rule Breakers, produced by Angel Studios, to the sports documentary Miracle, which chronicled the 1980 U.S. hockey team's unlikely journey to the gold medal. Both films highlight the strength of tenacity and show improbable real-life heroes conquering great obstacles. Additionally, he claims that both films motivate viewers.


Guttentag told, "We're like a sports movie in some ways."


The remarkable true story of Roya Mahboob and the Afghan Dreamers, a pioneering all-girls robotics team that overcame social expectations in Afghanistan to pursue school and compete in the late 2010s and early 2020s, is told in the film Rule Breakers (PG). 

In Afghanistan, girls should stop their official education after the sixth grade, according to long-standing customs that are currently upheld by Taliban administration. Mahboob and her companions faced resistance almost wherever they went.

Jason Brown, a friend and writer who assisted in writing the script, told Guttentag about the Afghan Dreamers.


"He had written some articles about the central character in the film, Roya Mahboob, and he called me up and said, 'I think I have an idea that would make a good movie.'"

Guttentag was initially dubious.

"You hear this line a lot if you work in the same industry as me. It's frequently untrue.
However, he now claims that in this instance, it "was extremely true."

"It's a story of triumph over adversity," stated Guttentag.


He adds that it's a tale of equal rights. Guttentag related the incident of an Angel Studios executive's daughter who saw the movie and was taken aback, for the first time recognizing how fortunate Western girls are to have unfettered access to school.

When Guttentag told, "the most powerful stories are the true stories,"
 "I'd like to think that I can do something with film that will have some positive impact," he stated. "But I also don't want to make movies that are, for want of a better term, 'eat your spinach movies.'" A lot of movies are out there that give you lectures, and I don't want to make one of those. I'm looking for a movie that will motivate you. We spend a lot of time discussing STEM education for girls, which is something I firmly believe in and that I feel other people do as well. But instead of giving you a lecture that makes you roll your eyes, we want to celebrate it."
He claimed that Rule Breakers honors "quiet heroism."

"We look at film, and sometimes we see characters that we wish we could be or have characteristics of the person," he stated. "And I believe that this movie showcases strong, courageous women who ultimately achieve. And I hope the message is strong."