Yana Gorskaya ( Russian: Яна Горская; Яна Викторовна Гороховская) is a

Russian-American Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...

director, producer and

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

. She is best known for her work as director and co-executive producer of the TV series ''What We Do in the Shadows'' (2019) and her work in the editorial departments of nearly all of director Taika Waititi’s films, including ''Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' (2016),''Thor Ragnorak'' (2017), ''Jojo Rabbit'' (2019) and the feature version of '' What We Do in the Shadows'' (2014).

Early life

Gorskaya was born in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, and is of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. At the age of 6, she immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

with her single mother. Gorskaya obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and later attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC) to obtain a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

degree.

Career

Gorskaya was hired to edit her first feature film, ''Spellbound'' (2002), when director Jeffrey Blitz asked his former USC mentor

Kate Amend Kate Amend is an American documentary film editor whose career spans more than thirty years. She is known for being a dedicated editor who finds the emotional center of each scene she works with. A member of American Cinema Editors, Amend is the ...

if she would recommend one of her students to work on his documentary film. Amend suggested Gorskaya, who was working as a teaching assistant while completing her MFA; Gorskaya accepted the offer and put together the final cut of the film, working part-time from 2000–2002. ''Spellbound'' was ultimately nominated for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Documentary Feature, and Gorskaya won the

American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...

Award for Best Edited Documentary. Her next three features, also documentaries, were ''In the Name of Love'' (2003), produced by

Sydney Pollack Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films. For his film '' Out ...

, about Russian marriage agencies, ''Sonny Boy'' (2004), directed by

Soleil Moon Frye Soleil Moon Frye (; born August 6, 1976) is an American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. She began her career as a child actress at the age of two. When she was seven, Frye won the role of Penelope "Punky" Brewster in the NBC sitco ...

, focusing on Frye's relationship with her father, and ''Seeds'' (2004), about the

Seeds of Peace Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding and leadership development organization headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth and educators from areas of conflict to its camp in Maine. It a ...

camp in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

. Gorskaya's first non-documentary feature was 2007's ''Rocket Science'', with which she worked with Blitz for a second time. She began her collaboration with Taika Waititi on his first feature, ''Eagle Vs. Shark'' (2007), and is credited as an editor or consulting editor on nearly all of his films, including ''Boy'' (2010), ''What We Do in the Shadows'' (2014, with Jemaine Clement), ''Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' (2016), ''Thor Ragnorak'' (2017), ''Jojo Rabbit'' (2019), and ''Next Goal Wins'' (2023). Her series directing work has made the best of the year lists on the NY Times, Rolling Stone, A.V. Club, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Vulture, Hollywood Reporter, Decider and IGN. As one of the key creatives on ''What We Do in the Shadows'', she directed 17 episodes of the show through five seasons, including fan favorite ''On the Run'' with Jackie Daytona, and other Emmy-nominated episodes including ''Collaboration'', ''Casino'' and ''Wellness Center''. She was also nominated for a series Emmy as co-executive producer, and received another nomination for her editing work. Other directing credits include the NBC series ''Trial & Error'' (2017-2018) and the upcoming adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s 1981 film ''Time Bandits'', produced and written by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. Gorskaya is also a screenwriter with writing partner and childhood friend Maia Rossini. They sold a musical comedy to Fox with

Paul Feig Paul Samuel Feig (; born September 17, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for directing films starring frequent collaborator Melissa McCarthy, including '' Bridesmaids'' (2011), '' The Heat'' (2013), '' Spy'' (20 ...

attached to direct. They are represented at UTA.

Personal life

Gorskaya is fluent in Russian,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. She currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

References

1. "Seeds: A Documentary Film". www.mergemedia.tv. 2. Brown, Kimberley (September 1, 2003). "Cut and Pace". RealScreen. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 3. Heller, Joel (March 3, 2007). "Yana Gorskaya, Editor of SPELLBOUND". DocsThatInspire.com. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 4. "Rocket Science Production Notes" (Press release). Picturehouse. 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 5. "Alumni in the News". Columbia College Today. Spring 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2020. 6. "Yana Gorskaya (résumé)" (PDF) (Press release). Sheldon Prosnit Agency. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 7. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/20/arts/television/best-tv-episodes-2021.html 8. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-season-2-recap-finale-1011799/ 9. https://www.avclub.com/the-a-v-club-s-favorite-tv-episodes-of-2021-1848221950/slides/4 10. https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/the-20-best-tv-episodes-of-2021/ 11. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/12/20/best-tv-shows-of-2021-ted-lasso-squid-game/6196093001/ 12. https://www.vulture.com/2020/06/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-season-2-review.html 13. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/great-tv-episodes-2021-1235065533/ 14. https://decider.com/2021/12/08/best-tv-episodes-of-2021-streaming/ 15. https://www.ign.com/articles/best-tv-episode-of-2021 16. https://ew.com/tv/best-tv-episodes-of-2021/

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorskaya, Yana Living people Russian emigrants to the United States American film editors Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia University alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni American people of Russian-Jewish descent 1977 births