Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Katalyna.
Hi Alyssa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a kid growing up on a small farm in Indiana I really wanted to be a glamorous actress. Yet the farm took all my free time so only our dogs got to see my first performances. It wasn’t until I was a freshman at Purdue University that I finally got my chance to work with human audiences. After being pressured by my teachers and family to follow a career as veterinarian for the Armed Forces, I was miserable during my first semester of college. The only glimmer of hope was my free elective class. Even Bio-Chem majors are required to take an art credit, so I signed up for Acting 101. That class opened my eyes to my real passion of entertainment and I fell in love with writing and directing skits for myself and fellow acting students. At the end of that semester, I changed my trajectory to pursue Theatre and Film production.
After Purdue, I went to the University of Southern California for my MFA in Film and Television Production where I specialized in writing, directing, and producing. Through that program I have found my voice as an artist, a community of collaborators, and a career I love .
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
To quote my uncle, “You won’t find treasure on an easy journey”. I lost my mother in March 2020 a week before Covid shuttered the world for two years. My entire life and my passion faltered for a year as I tried to move on and readjust to the new stuck-at-home normal. Eventually, one day I sat down at my computer and all the pain, frustration, and anger I was feeling flowed out through my hands. Losing her forced me to change the way I approach my relationship with the world around me and the people I treasure. That new philosophy has become a theme in my work where I often highlight the idea of love after death.
The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is to truly trust in and listen to your collaborators. It’s taken me a long time to understand how to share my art with others and how to listen to the feedback. Once you learn you don’t have to be right all the time, you open yourself up to the wisdom of those around you. When you’re too close to the work, fresh eyes are critical to make your film great.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Latina writer/director/producer who is drawn to dramas with supernatural twists. I’ve been carving out my place in the micro-budget indie world and have been (thankfully) incredibly successful with my projects going on to several film festivals. I’m most proud of securing over $25,000 for each project and guiding them to success. I’m so excited to be releasing Glance, a short I wrote, directed and produced during Covid which is finally being released during the holiday season. I am also writing my first feature which I am aiming to direct in 2023.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Reach outside your comfort zone to find people who don’t always agree with you! The best part of my friendships is that we feel comfortable enough to disagree with each other. It’s critical to have people who see the world differently than you do. I’ve always found my work is elevated when I’m challenged and forced to think with someone else’s perspective.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10618738/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyssakatalyna/
Image Credits
Kate Osumi, Amber Rose Jones, Rielle Li
