Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Lana Bolycheva Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry
An Interview With Elana Cohen
It’s okay not knowing something. I think at the beginning; I was embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know something. Now, I find joy in figuring stuff out.
As a part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing film director Lana Bolycheva.
Lana was drawn to theater from an early age. She earned her first BA degree at The Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) as an Actress. After working for several years in theater and TV shows, she turned to documentary film production and earned her second BA degree at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), as a film director. Her film, Kis, was screened in Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, France and won special jury awards in Etiuda & Anima International Film Festival, Poland, and Best Cinematography award at the Vancouver Women in Film Festival, Canada. Lana is currently an MFA candidate at New York University Tisch School of the Arts’ Graduate Film program. Her new project is a feature film called “Dysphoria.”
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in a Russian province in the 90’s — the Perestroika period.
The USSR fell apart in 1991 when I was three years old. It was the end of one system when the new system wasn’t yet developed. I was growing up in a state of change and uncertainty; everything was unstable, unreliable, and unclear.
People who got used to counting on the government in communism couldn’t do it anymore. Moreover, they were traumatized because all their lives, they were working for and believing in something that fell apart. It was a rise of criminal gangs, drugs, and corruption. Did I understand it when I was 6–10 years old? Of course, not. Did it influence me? Tremendously. I could sense the anxiety of uncertainty from my parents, grandparents, 1st-grade teachers, a cashier at the grocery store, and boozers on the bench near the grocery store; it was in the air.
The iron curtain fell down, and all this information that was blocked for decades just overloaded the media. Compared to today, Russia had freedom of speech back then. There was almost no censorship.
Also, it was a videotape rental era. Since all tapes were pirated, no one really thought then about age restriction. And just like that, I saw a nightmare on Elm Street at the age of six. Horror films were considered fun films and my brother, and I would ask our parents to get some from the video rental store frequently. I remember watching Showgirls at the age of 10.
The reality gave so much anxiety that people were just looking for an escape. I found my escape in books and later in theater and art. First, my grandpa would read me. Then, at age 6, I learned how to read. I think it was one of the best moments in my life.
Reading poetry was basically my coping mechanism during my teenage years. I always felt like art had a healing power for me. So in return, I always wanted to make art that would give the audience this level of support that I felt then.
Perestroika plus books, plus videotapes, plus a sense of humor that was always present in our family — roughly, that was my world growing up.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I got my first degree as an actress and was trying to build an acting career in Moscow. This was when I started to develop a yearning for directing. While I was going through auditions or working in tv series or on stage, I thought they had all these resources, equipment, stuff, paid time, and actors — I could do so much with it.
So, after some time, I applied to a filmmaking program in VGIK — the best film school in Moscow and got accepted on the first attempt. It was a very competitive program, so I was really happy to get there.
I remember in the first class. We got an assignment to go and shoot an inner monologue for a spirit character from Chekhov’s play. The next morning, I took a train to the countryside to shoot it. It was only me and my small camera. It was cold, foggy, and drizzling rain, which looked great on screen. I was happy, walking around with the camera in the old abandoned mansion at 8 am on the weekday, imagining if there would be a spirit or Treplev living here. What it would see? How would it move? Watching at all through the camera lens. Fun, right?
I was absolutely fascinated that I could show thoughts and dreams on screen. I had this gut feeling which told me, yes, this is yours — go! I felt then that this is what I want to do and feel the same way now. I just keep on doing it. It’s been 12 years.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Oh, it’s definitely happening at the moment while I’m working on Dysphoria. But I can’t talk about it yet. Can you please ask me in a couple of years from now?
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I was shooting a documentary about the circus in a Russian province. I was with the cinematographer, but we had two cameras, so I operated the second camera.
I remember making this incredible long tracking shot during the lion’s training, pulling focus, and it all was just perfect. While I was shooting it, I thought, here, here’s going to be a perfect opening shot with so much tension. I was thinking of ending it with the projector lights to give us a smooth transition for the next scene. So, I’m panning up. It’s perfect, I think, and at the moment I cut. I realized my camera was not rolling. It’s probably not funny for everyone, but it makes me laugh whenever I remember how long it was and how much I enjoyed it. I considered this shot was meant just for me.
When you are having fun during the process, that joy is enough. And it helps to overcome mistakes like this.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have been receiving a lot of help and support on my way. It’s hard to select one single person. In these past years, that would be my father, my therapist, my primary care doctor, and my writing professor Pam Katz. Under her wing, I came to the realization that I am a writer, and I love screenwriting as much as directing. I wrote my very first feature BATA in her class, which is not at the development stage right now, but I will definitely make it one day. She is the only person in the world who has read all my written features. I think of her as my writing godmother. Every time I finish the script, I think of her.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
Allow yourself to fail because failing is part of the process. I don’t think a person exists who was born successful and never failed. As my favorite yoga teacher says: it’s a flying practice; falling is a part of this practice. Also, with writing and directing, you probably need to love the process itself. It is hard, but if you enjoy it on the way, you don’t care about whether it will fail or succeed. I make movies because I like to make movies, and I’m very happy when others love them. I feel very grateful because I would be making it anyways.
Every industry iterates and seeks improvement. What changes would you like to see in the industry going forward?
I would like to see how the menstrual cycle will be normalized and the film production environment will be more female-friendly and menstrual cycle-friendly.
It is still taboo to openly talk about it.
Approximately half of the population is menstruating. It is a very natural fact. Why don’t we make the schedule and work environment convenient and open this conversation? Menstruation can affect mood and energy levels and, in some cases, can be very painful.
It seems that when we talk about equality and how a woman should have the same rights, it has gotten to the point when everyone just agreed — okay, let’s all live by the same rules, which are convenient for male nature.
No equality is when society can equally accommodate everyone’s needs.
Women have different needs. Women menstruate, get pregnant, give birth, and breastfeed. Women might be going through menopause or an abortion. All of it is very fiscal and yet can easily go unnoticed by people around.
And now think of a film set with its 12 hours of the workday. That can be very challenging if you have a painful period and are on your day 1 or 2.
In the days of reopening after COVID industry adjusted very quickly, with testing and everything. So why is no one even trying to accommodate the menstrual cycle of their workers? At least, I have never seen it, and this is what I’ll be trying on my first feature set, and I’m very excited about it. I hope it’ll be something we’ll start on Dysphoria production and carry on this practice on all my future projects.
Since I could find any evidence of this practice, I developed a guideline we will be following during the production. I tried to include the list of how to schedule the production with being aware of the crew and casts’ menstrual cycle and what kind of help can be provided on set if a person who menstruates works in a leading position and can not take a day off. It might sound complicated, but my guess is that it will do only good — for all workers and production.
Even opening this conversation and appreciating the cycle will do a lot of good. I’m sure we’ll get more ideas on improving this system after we try it on set. I love to think about it and am very curious to see how it will go.
I hope that sort of awareness will raise respect for women’s nature and body.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I’m now in the development stage for my first feature film, entitled Dysphoria.
I wrote a script based on the novel Diaboliad by one of my favorite Russian writers Mikhail Bulgakov.
Dysphoria is a satirical thriller about an immigrant Nikolay Shimochkin, who gets stuck in the Russian Embassy in New York. By trying to correct his misspelled last name in renewed documents, he gets swallowed by the demonic bureaucracy machine. Nikolay discovers he won’t be able to escape until he thoroughly loses his identity and his mind.
We are now looking for financiers and hoping to launch the production next year.
It’s important for me to make this project first. I hope this project will support Russian liberals, who now risk their lives when speaking up.
We are very interested in looking at diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture and our youth growing up today?
Before I start talking about diversity, l want to state that I’m in conflict with the term Entertainment Industry.
If we look at the roots of the entertainment industry back in the early ages, it would be connected to religion, such as in ancient Greece theater culture. It would have the purpose of education, such as with fairytales. Or would satisfy communication needs, like sharing an experience with other people, such as food or strong emotions. And I think it’s still all this, but now we call it entertainment — which makes it sound lighter and supposed to mean — just fun. We believe that we are getting entertained, but we are getting influenced. We will be left with standards, ideas, and desires.
And if the standards and ideas are not diverse, it leaves us with desires that will make us desperately try to fulfill desires that we don’t need or are just unrealistic.
It can give us wrong standards.
We might get educated on what beauty, family, and gender standards are. And yet we may know that it’s all very individual. We see the audience’s reaction because we experience this with others, so we teach our brains that this standard is what everyone likes. And, ofcourse, we want to be liked.
We might get the ideas of relationships that don’t fit us, or desires, or our reality.
We’ll get some ideas of what love should look like, what gender roles are, what friendship is, and what children’s and parents’ relationships are like. It also gives us a timeline on how our life should evolve as we age and guides us on how to act if something goes off within this model. It is more tricky for kids since they haven’t learned critical thinking yet.
And then these ideas and standards form our desires, which we might never be able to fulfill. It might call us to spend money on stuff we don’t need because of the ideas of what a successful person should have and look like (regardless if they need it or not). But it gets more dangerous when it’s getting to fiscal desires, and we try to change ourselves fiscally trying to fit. Or when we try to pursue without thinking if that’s what we want, like with family, kids, or career.
To conclude, the entertainment industry without diversity can be harmful and may prevent people from natural self-development. But again, for me, making entertainment diverse wouldn’t be enough. The awareness should be raised as well.
You see, we won’t enroll our kids in a religious school if, for example, we are agnostic, right? We’d be more considerate. I think we just need to be as considerate as possible with information consumption. We need to be more aware on both sides, as creators and consumers.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
Daydreaming and doing nothing is important. Having time for yourself can open up a creative field.
Trust your instincts.
It’s okay not knowing something. I think at the beginning; I was embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know something. Now, I find joy in figuring stuff out.
Meet more people! I got into the habit of talking to people I didn’t know. It is very inspirational, and a small talk in a line might give you a good character introduction.
Observe and stay curious.
To take good care of yourself. Health is important, and it’s a good idea to keep it in good shape from early on.
Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices or treatments that you do to help your body, mind or heart to thrive? Please share a story for each one if you can.
I sleep at least 6 -7 hours at night.
This is something I had to work through. I used to just work till I couldn’t. Now I learned that my work is much more productive if I’m well-rested.
I’m in sync with my menstrual cycle.
I read the book Wild Power, by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, which really improved my life. It talks about the different faces of the menstrual cycle and how it influences our lives. It helped me understand and appreciate my cycle and be in sync with it and my body. I think this book is something we should study in school, as it explains the nature of a woman’s body. I definitely was missing this knowledge growing up.
I read. I really think that reading is a part of self-care.
Books have always influenced my life. I always read something. Some books should be mandatory to read if you are taking certain jobs. For example, I don’t know if someone would want to start another war after reading Svetlana Alexievich’s book War’s unwomanly face. Or at least I think that would influence the decisions and awareness level.
I run.
I love running because it’s a solitary sport, and I don’t need much for it and I can do it anytime. It’s been about two years now, and it has become a habit.
I spent time with my friends and people I love.
People are important. I guess that doesn’t need to be explained.
I have a cat, Saturno. Who is the smartest cat I have ever known. His company indeed improves my everyday mood.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
We are never complete, we are always work in progress.
The acceptance of the idea that everything is constantly changing.
As someone who was born during uncertain times, I was always looking for stability for a way to settle down. And yet I realized that only the present moment is consistent, and there is no such thing as stability. Everything changes every second, including ourselves. Even a finished product, let’s say a book or a film, will be changing with time, as times will change, values will change, and perspectives of good and bad will change.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I don’t think that there can be one single movement that I would like to inspire and settle with. There are a lot of things that worry me, and I would like to change for good. But not always I know how.
As for now, I’m trying to inspire and support women to be more independent, free with their body choices and sexuality, and of course, trying to raise menstrual cycle awareness. By just talking about it, we normalize it.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
Honestly, now it’s my family and my best friend, Sasha. I haven’t seen them for six years, first because of COVID and now war. They know I’d want to see them, so we don’t have to tag them.
But speaking of someone I don’t know in person, that would be Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I feel very grateful for the support I got through her books and lectures. I feel proud that I live in one era with her. I would love to have lunch with her.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Yes! We are also looking for collaborators for Dysphoria, and I will be posting soon on my website more detailed information about it! So please keep your eye on it, and don’t be shy to get in touch!
https://www.facebook.com/Lanabolycheva
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
