Meet Lina Sánchez Salamanca

We were lucky to catch up with Lina Sánchez Salamanca recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lina, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I found my purpose after my mom took me to see Star Wars The Phantom Menace 10 times when I was a kid. There’s a scene where Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon dive into a lake and swim a long distance underwater without needing to come up for air. I remember thinking how it looked so real, and wondering who made this, how they did it, and how they made it so convincing. After that I fell deeply in love with watching movies and as time went on I realized I not only enjoyed watching movies, I felt like they kept me company, they made me feel more alive. Having grown up in a home as an only child with a mom that had a lot of undiagnosed mental health issues, it helped me connect with other people and other stories, process my own emotions and feel some kind of hope for a better life. I can confirm now, at 34 years old, and working in the film industry, the world of filmmaking saved my life and helped me to connect with my highest self.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Nowadays I’m focused on a few things professionally. I work in marketing post production for a large studio, I’m a co-chair of the NET (Networking Education & Technology) program in the HPA (Hollywood Professional Association) and a governor at SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers). I also just wrapped post production on a short film called “Don’t Watch This” produced with a team made up of my husband and close friends. I also created an educational podcast last year called “The Two Amigas in Hollywood” which focused on how to navigate the entertainment industry.

Moving forward, I’m focused on creating more short films, including ones focused on mental health, anxiety and depression, as well as continuing to connect with people looking to collaborate and are passionate about filmmaking, working to build teams based in love and compassion and creating safe spaces for people to explore their art.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The first and most important skill in my journey has been knowing how to collaborate. Collaboration seems to be a simple concept and everyone thinks they how to do it, but that’s far from the truth. Creating trust, connecting with the needs of others, learning to compromise and work in parallel not in sequence have all been things that I’ve had to learn and re-learn throughout the years so that every collaborator has the same goal and the project can be successful. Say yes and be receptive to every idea – let your team express themselves. It will help foster creative solutions to difficult problems.

The second is compassion. When I’ve had compassionate leaders in my career journey, it’s when I’ve truly flourished. Leaders who are focused on a goal but maintain their humanity, who check in with me with genuine curiosity and without judgment. Leaders who always treat me like I’m smart enough to tackle the challenge before me. These are the types of role models I’ve learned the most from and it’s how I strive to be for others as well.

The last is clear communication. I’ve been so inspired by leaders in my career, especially women, who are clear and concise and show true honesty and bravery in their communication. Many people are scared to say things as they are for fear of the consequences, but I think that we as women have had to develop the skill of clear communication in a male-dominated world in order to lead teams and be successful.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

“The Moment of Lift – How Empowering Women Changes the World” by Melinda Gates impacted me in many different ways. First, the way it shows the struggles that many women face all around the world that we might not be aware of. Secondly, the importance of truly understanding how to support all women and girls in their personal and professional lives. I don’t think we realize the massive impact that supporting and empowering women would have in our society, for the benefit of all.

I think we’ve been conditioned to “play it safe” and do only what we feel we can do well from the start. In truth we have to play it big, without fear of what others will say, truly being ourselves in terms of how we present ourselves to the world. It’s not about being perfect but rather just making things happen. The book really shows the reader how women can use their unique strengths in their favor to be successful, and lend a voice to the things that are truly important.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: voyager12_
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linasanchezsal/