Ola Salwa

Ola Salwa is a polish writer, film journalist, member of FIPRESCI and EFA, Head of Industry – Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, and a filmfestivals.com contributor.

"Stories are my greatest passion. I became a film critic when I was 19 years old precisely because of my love for stories and a will to understand how and why they were told.
I began by writing for Filmweb.pl (now the biggest film-dedicated portal in Poland, and second in Europe), and then had internships at magazines including the prestigious weekly "Przekroj". I always thought of my writing - be it a long essay about a single filmmaker or a two paragraph film review or a profile of a fashion designer (if fashion isn't a story, I don't know what is) - as telling a story. As my career evolved, I became an industry reporter and host of post-screening conversations with filmmakers (Q&A). Hearing their stories has always been inspiring.

A part of my storytelling journey as also been in translation work, including translating (Polish to English, and English to Polish) scripts, articles or interviews, or live when moderating a panel.

The past few years have brought me even closer to film stories since I work as a script consultant and have been developing my skills as a script editor. My goal in helping screenwriters is to make sure that they tell the story in a way that is clear and intentional."