Meet Lana Bolycheva | Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lana Bolycheva and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lana, why did you pursue a creative career?
I guess there was no way for me not to pursue a creative career.

I have been painting since childhood, and in the middle school, I wanted to be an artist. In high school, I was in theater class, and then I went to college to study acting and then film. I was following my passion, and I first became an artist, not thinking that it would be my career. Then I realized I had been doing it for so long that I got very skilled, and it became my career.

Another factor is that, growing up, I saw a support system in art. We didn’t talk much about feelings in my family. In art, I saw a field where I could express myself – emotionally, and from the art of others, I learned about what others felt.

One of the first books that I felt really connected to was Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. I was around ten years old. And I remember how much I loved a play format – we can read only what people say, how they say it, and what they do while talking – my imagination would create. Maybe this is when the first seeds of me as a director started to grow; I don’t know. Hard to say because you see, now, when I became what I am, it just seems to me that I always was that.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a writer/director and editor in film/TV and Video production.

I do comedies that talk about serious matters.
I like to play with different genres and combine them. I love Sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism, detectives, and thrillers. My movies usually turn out to be mixed genres, but the word comedy – would consistently appear in the description of almost every film I make.

I like to hear audiences laugh in a movie theater, and I feel happy and proud for our team. We made people laugh – we extended their lives – I think then.

I made my way through education and experience. I learned from great professors, I learned by doing, and I learned from my fellow friends directors on whose sets I’d work as an AD.

The most difficult thing for me was getting rid of the impostor syndrome. I was born in Russia, where the film industry is very Patriarchal (not only the film industry, by the way). So I grew up thinking I wasn’t smart enough to talk about certain topics, like politics, for example. It took me three diplomas, and years of living and working in industry in the US to heal it and allow myself to talk about anything I want.

It was not easy for me. I moved from a provincial town in Russia to Moscow first. Then, I moved from Moscow to Los Angeles. Then, from LA to New York. I had to build my life from scratch every time I moved. But with it, I developed great connections in both countries and on both coasts. The thing is, whenever you are going through tough times, there are people who are helping you, and there are people who are just like you going through the same things, and this can help to create a very strong bond. And that’s what happened to me. I’m very grateful to all the people who I met during this time.

I’ve learned a lot, and I’m still learning. It’s a never-ending process.
I think today I’d say that I learned how to be flexible. With all the crazy events that happened during the past five years, I had to accept that things might not go as planned, and there are things that I can not control or do anything about. So, the best I can do is be flexible and do my best given the circumstances.

I’d like the world to see my films; please check them out!
And if you like it and want to collaborate, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
I’m currently looking for producers for the feature film I’m working on.
I’m also open to editing gigs and happy to meet new directors!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The first palace that comes to mind is The Huntington Botanical Gardens. This is my favorite place in LA. And I take here everyone who visits. I love to stroll from one garden to another and breathe in the smell of grasses in or rest under the old tree. The Desert Garden is my favorite. I’m always having a great time here, whether I go alone or with friends.

I’d definitely take them to check out DTLA, Little Tokyo, and local stand-up comedy events.

To enjoy the ocean, I’d take them to Zuma Beach. I like to get in the ocean and expect my visitors to join me.

And there will be a day when we’ll go to the Getty Center and Santa Monica.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t be who I am today without everyone who supported and influenced me. There are so many people I feel grateful to.

My art teacher, Elena Piganova, helped me recognize an artist in myself and has guided me since I was seven. From her, I got a sense of color and composition and learned how to understand abstract art.

My school teacher, Boris Benenson. He passed away years ago, but I will feel forever grateful. He not only taught me the art of acting, but he was also a great example of a human being with very high moral standards. He had such a concentration of dignity and integrity that I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like him. He was really one of a kind. I hope one day I will dedicate a film to him.

I’m very grateful to my NYU professors, who, even after my graduation, remain my mentors: Abigail Zealey Bess, Sofia Sondervan-Bild, Barbara Schock, Pam Katz, John Tintori, and Erica Freed Marker.

And, of course, writers whom I had never met, but their books supported and accompanied me on my way. At this time of my life, it’s Clarissa Pinkola Estes, the author of Women Who Run with the Wolves and many more great books. I think I read every her book that I could find, and she has definitely influenced me as a storyteller and as a person, and for that, I’m very grateful.

Website: https://www.lanabolycheva.com

Instagram: @LANA_BOLYCHEVA

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-bolycheva-b43084168

Image Credits
Photos by Hongwei Wu, Anastasiia Litvinova, Gwen Moiles, Eve Liu