Background
Alana Waksman (she/her) is an Ashkenazi writer, director, producer, and descendant of Holocaust survivors from Poland. She is an alum of the USC School of Cinematic Arts MFA in Film & Television Production. As an actor, she trained at Shakespeare & Company, Berkshire Theater Festival, St. Petersburg Dramatic Arts Academy in Russia, and The O'Neill National Theater Institute where she studied under Oscar nominated actor Colman Domingo (RUSTIN, SING SING).
WE BURN LIKE THIS, Alana's debut feature, stars Madeleine Coghlan (THE ROOKIE) and Devery Jacobs (RESERVATION DOGS) and is executive produced by Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer Neda Armian (RACHEL GETTING MARRIED). The film premiered at the 2021 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, internationally at Deauville American Film Festival, and has played at 31 festivals and garnered 10 awards. The film was released in theaters and on VOD in June 2022, and internationally in 2023.
FOREGROUND
Alana is in production for her debut documentary, VARIOUS WAYS TO CRY AND YELL, a personal film about Jewish identity also executive produced by Neda Armian. Her sophomore fiction feature SHE FALLS LIKE WATER was a semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition, a semi-finalist at the Almanack Screenwriters Colony, and a finalist at the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival Screenplay Competition.
Alana is drawn to tell stories of intergenerational trauma for the purpose of healing.
She is currently based in Los Angeles.
2019 - Madeleine Coghlan and alana Waksman onset for WE BUrn Like This
