Yana Gorskaya
Encyclopedia
Yana Gorskaya is a Russia
n-American
film editor. She is best known for her work in the editorial departments of the films Spellbound (2002), Rocket Science
(2007) and Smart People
(2008).
from New York
's Columbia University
and later attended the University of Southern California
(USC) to obtain a Master of Fine Arts
degree. She was hired to edit her first feature film, 2002's Spellbound, when director Jeffrey Blitz
asked his former USC mentor Kate Amend 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 for Best Documentary Feature, and Gorskaya won the American Cinema Editors
Award for Best Edited Documentary. Her next three features, also documentaries, were In the Name of Love
(2003), produced by Sydney Pollack
, about Russian marriage agencies, Sonny Boy (2004), directed by Soleil Moon Frye
, focusing on Frye's relationship with her father, and Seeds (2004), about the Seeds of Peace
camp in Maine
.
Gorskaya's first non-documentary feature was 2007's Rocket Science
, with which she worked with Blitz for a second time. She then edited the 2008 independent comedy film Smart People
, which was written by Mark Poirier
and directed by Noam Murro. She is set to edit Blitz's upcoming documentary about lottery winners.
Gorskaya is also a screenwriter with writing partner and childhood friend Maia Rossini. They are represented at Creative Artists Agency.
, French
and Spanish
. She currently resides in Los Angeles
, California
.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film editor. She is best known for her work in the editorial departments of the films Spellbound (2002), Rocket Science
Rocket Science (film)
Rocket Science is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, and starring Reece Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas D'Agosto, Vincent Piazza, and Aaron Yoo...
(2007) and Smart People
Smart People
Smart People is a 2008 American comedy-drama film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church. The film was directed by Noam Murro, written by Mark Poirier and produced by Michael London, with Omar Amanat serving as executive producer.Smart People was filmed on...
(2008).
Career
Gorskaya obtained a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and later attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(USC) to obtain a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
degree. She was hired to edit her first feature film, 2002's Spellbound, when director Jeffrey Blitz
Jeffrey Blitz
Jeffrey Blitz is an American film director, producer and screenwriter from Ridgewood, New Jersey. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2002 documentary, Spellbound and he won the Dramatic Directing Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his 2007 film, Rocket Science.Blitz won the 2009...
asked his former USC mentor Kate Amend 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 for Best Documentary Feature, and Gorskaya won the American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors 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 itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
Award for Best Edited Documentary. Her next three features, also documentaries, were In the Name of Love
In the Name of Love (film)
In The Name of Love is a 2011 Filipino romantic drama film starring Aga Muhlach, Angel Locsin and Jake Cuenca. The film is a special presentation for Star Cinema's 18th anniversary. The film premiered nationwide on May 11, 2011...
(2003), produced by Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
, about Russian marriage agencies, Sonny Boy (2004), directed by Soleil Moon Frye
Soleil Moon Frye
Soleil Moon Frye is an American actress, director and screenwriter. Frye is best known for her childhood role as the title character in sitcom Punky Brewster, and as Roxie King in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.-Early life:...
, focusing on Frye's relationship with her father, and Seeds (2004), about the Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding youth organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine. It also provides regional programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as...
camp in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
.
Gorskaya's first non-documentary feature was 2007's Rocket Science
Rocket Science (film)
Rocket Science is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, and starring Reece Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas D'Agosto, Vincent Piazza, and Aaron Yoo...
, with which she worked with Blitz for a second time. She then edited the 2008 independent comedy film Smart People
Smart People
Smart People is a 2008 American comedy-drama film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church. The film was directed by Noam Murro, written by Mark Poirier and produced by Michael London, with Omar Amanat serving as executive producer.Smart People was filmed on...
, which was written by Mark Poirier
Mark Poirier
Mark Jude Poirier is a contemporary American novelist, short fiction writer, and screenwriter whose work often is set in the Southwestern United States...
and directed by Noam Murro. She is set to edit Blitz's upcoming documentary about lottery winners.
Gorskaya is also a screenwriter with writing partner and childhood friend Maia Rossini. They are represented at Creative Artists Agency.
Personal life
Gorskaya was born in Russia, and emigrated to the United States with her single mother at the age of six. She is fluent in RussianRussian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. She currently resides in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.