Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrea Polnaszek. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

It is very important to me to be part of meaningful work. I feel passionate about creating a caring environment for people to thrive. As a social worker, I have worked as an individual and family therapist for the past 30 years. In that time I have worked to learn best practices to help fascilitate hard conversations. All of my work as a therapist has informed my writing. I believe relationships thrive when communication is good. Our first movie, Catching Faith is all about the power of being real over being perfect. The story is about a woman who’s life looks perfect from the outside but is falling apart on the inside. It was inspired from work I did with women who shared feelings of inadequacy and disappointment – when the life they hoped for or dreamed of didn’t match up to their real life. Much of life is very hard, full of hurt, unmet expectations and frustration. In the movie, Catching Faith, Alexa Taylor attends a women’s group that is studying a Bible Study I wrote called The Elijah Project. It’s based on the story of Elijah who was so disappointed by God that he asked Him to let him die. This may seem dramatic, but the beautiful conclusion to the Bible story is that rather than sending a lightening bolt, God sent an angel who delivered food, water and directions to Elijah. This workbook and movie was the beginning of some of the most meaningful work I have been a part of. I wish I always measured the work I do based on how meaningful it is – I don’t. Sometimes I just say yes because I don’t want to say no! But I think one of the most important questions we can keep in mind when we are invited to a project is: What impact will this have on others and will it make a difference in someone’s life. I aim to always be adding life to the world in the choices I make.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My sister and I make movies that mom’s can trust and kids love. I have the privilege of writing and producing films that fit a unique nitch in the market. Our movies are for families and are enjoyed by people of all ages. I’m a mom who was tired of covering the eyes of my kids when we were watching movies. So, instead of complaining I accepted my sister’s invitation to write movies with her. Before screenwriting, I wrote lessons to help teens and their parents have meaningful conversations together. I love providing on ramps for good dialogue. I believe that God created us for community with each other and relationship with him. As a preacher’s kid and a pastor’s wife I felt frustrated with how the Bible seemed so distant and irrelevant from my day to day journey. In my personal Bible study and journalling, I began to explore how these stories really related to me. As I began to translate the stories to fit my world, I went to a whole new level in my love for God and passion to share Him with others. This experience ignited a passion and I began to write creative activities to help explore what we can learn from these ancient stories. I call myself an art hack. I really can’t draw but I love to make art. I took some mixed media art classes which really increased my confidence and gave me a medium to help others (many people feel like they can’t do art) to express themselves through inspirational activities. One of my favorite activities is called: Who Am I? It is a rag doll outline with instructions to use colors, words, stickers to express how you are feeling. It can be as simple as coloring with crayons or as involved as modge podging magazine clippings but the result is amazing. Every time I teach this activity people are overwhelmed with how the art reveals their heart and helps them understand themselves better. This activity is featured in our movie Catching Faith. Art is a big part of my life from writing, to creating images that express how I feel, to screenwriting and finally to bringing our movies to life on the big screen.

The Elijah Project has been translated into Spanish and Porteguese. There are over 500 Elijah Project mentors in the country of Cuba. I have had the honor of visiting Cuba three times to teach and hear the stories of the women. It is so fun when I receive pictures of Who I Am? drawings from my Cuban sisters. In 2015 our movie team visited the country and did a movie tour.

I encourage you to check out our movies at www.theboylansisters.com and my books/workbooks at. www.andreapolnaszek.com

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think the mission of my work is providing a pathway to wellness. Throughout my life I have struggled with perfectionism. I am a type A personality who likes to get 100% and all 10’s on my reviews. I have struggled with constructive criticism in the past. I was very sensitive and super competitive with myself. In my journey I have come to realize that it is easier to give grace to others than to myself. God has provided a pathway to peace and mercy for the broken and that includes me. All of my writing: books, workbooks, devotionals and screenplays have one central message. Our stories center around topics everyone struggles with: perfectionism, criticism, bullying, love, generational trauma, grief, identity, and being created on purpose for a purpose. These films help to start a meaningful conversations. Our society is enraptured by entertainment, so meaningful movies are an important contribution to the world and the supplemental material that we create all contributes to emotional wellness.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am a social worker by trade. When my children were young, I left doing therapy to be stay at home mother. It was my dream to raise children and I did very little social work once they were born. Once my youngest daughter went to kindergarten I began volunteering at our local hospital in an initiative to address mental health care disparity in our area. I began to write, creating material to help teens and women experience emotional wholeness. My first book was the story of my life, so far… based on my early years of marriage and ministry. My next book came out of a revelation after sitting in. a Bible study about the prophet Elijah. That book is called The Elijah Project. It is this book that opened the door for me to begin to teach and listen to the stories of literally hundreds of women. I was on a path that was safe, comfortable and fit well with my the life I had built as a midwest soccer mom. That all changed on a Monday in 2012. I will never forget, standing on the landing of the second floor of our house holding a laundry basket. I answered a call from my sister who asked if I would like to consult on a faith based script. I had never written a screenplay before but in that moment I said “yes.” Little did I know that accepting that challenge and stepping into the unknown would lead to six feature length films. And the most recent four of those six, I took another step of faith to lead the art department. Each of these films has multiple companion pieces that I had the honor of writing as well. I feel like the conversation on my landing, was an invitation into adventure that has taken me to places and given me experiences beyond what I could have hoped for or imagined on my own. That day twelve years ago radically changed the trajectory of my life. It has encouraged me to say YES, whenever I can.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andreapolnaszek.com
• Instagram: @apolnaszek
• Facebook: Andrea M. Polnaszek
• Linkedin: Andrea Polnaszek
• Twitter: @apolnaszek
• Youtube: The Boylan Sisters
• Other: instagram: Boylan Sisters

Image Credits
Winter Scene: Andrea Kott Andrea in red shirt: Christina Rambo Andrea on stage: Jean Christen Andrea and Perry: Jael Polnaszek Andrea and Alexandra (The Boylan Sisters)