Founded by Olha Onyshko, or Olia, as friends call her, OliaFilm is a multicultural, multi-language collaborative film and video hub. OliaFilm makes film and video that spotlights our collective humanity, and provides multimedia support to projects that empower women who seek to build a sustainable environment for future generations. 

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Olha Onyshko is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, photographer, and storytelling coach.

Prior to filmmaking, Onyshko began her career as a broadcast journalist in her hometown of Lviv, Ukraine. When Onyshko moved to the U.S., she continued to share her voice back home as an anchor, writer, and producer for Voice of America while working toward an MFA at American University to transition into film. 

Onyshko's first documentary film, Three Stories of Galicia, told stories of humanism that emerged in the midst of atrocities during and after World War II. The film sparked a debate over historic memory and its role in current events. Her documentary Women of Maidan tells the story of women's life-supporting force, unity, courage and sacrifice during the 2013-2014 Ukrainian Revolution. The film premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the Fort Meyers Film Festival. While editing the film Women of Maidan, Onyshko began to coordinate efforts between physicians and volunteers to bring wounded Ukrainian soldiers to the U.S. for life-saving medical treatment. In 2014, she received recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives and the Embassy of Ukraine to the U.S. for her extraordinary work.

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Onyshko's documentaries in progress include Quo Vadis? (Where Am I Going?) about the life-affirming response of a Polish hotel owner when faced with the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Her short films include The Wheat Job follows the construction of the Holodomor Memorial in Washington, D.C. to honor victims of the 1932-1933 artificial famine in Ukraine orchestrated by the Soviet regime, Women's Prayer for Peace, and the Telly award-winning documentary Where Do The Children Play? about the role of nature in children's play.

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In addition to documentary films, Onyshko is currently writing and developing fiction and animated films rooted in history, based on Olga, Queen of Rus. She continues to expand her portfolio as a fine art photographer with the Remedies of Light series, now available in her shop, and Onyshko created and leads storytelling workshops for trauma healing called My Story, My Power.

Onyshko has also produced, directed, and edited numerous videos for organizations including the World Bank, Interface Media, the National Park Service, UNDP, the U.S. Department of Education, Global Health, and Johns Hopkins University. Additionally, in 2018-2019, Onyshko created and led a Media Literacy Campaign in Ukraine in order to combat disinformation and help dispel fake news being used as a tool of hybrid war.

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