Salem Omar Hijjo is a Syrian screenwriter, dramaturg, and theatre director with more than seventeen years of professional experience in drama. His career spans screenwriting, script development, theatre, and television production, giving him practical experience across different stages of dramatic development and production.

He studied Theatre Arts at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, specializing in Theatre Studies. He also participated in specialized workshops in dramatic analysis and theatre led by international practitioners including Lebanese director Roger Assaf, Hungarian theatre director Árpád Schilling, and German dramaturg Frank Raddatz.

His professional experience in television drama began in the early 2000s, where he worked across different areas of production before increasingly focusing on writing and script development. His work includes script supervision, co-writing, television writing, and script doctoring, alongside technical experience as a Digital Imaging Technician (DIT).

In theatre, he wrote and directed the play Wameed (Flash), performed at the National Library of Aleppo in 2008. He has also supervised practical workshops for students at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts and worked as an interactive theatre trainer.

His multidisciplinary experience brings together script analysis, dramatic structure, character development, and narrative rhythm with a practical understanding of production and visual storytelling.

At the 7th edition of the Kobani International Film Festival 2026, Salem Omar Hijjo serves as a Selection Committee Member – Narrative Films Section, contributing his experience in screenwriting, dramaturgy, and dramatic analysis to the viewing and evaluation of submitted films.