Born in Chișinău Moldova. Yana grew up in a creative household shaped by a screenwriter father who worked for Moldova Film and a mother devoted to scientific research. At the age of ten, she emigrated with her family to the United States to escape political persecution tied to her father’s writing and activism.

While spending a year in Italy awaiting permission to resettle in California she was immersed in an artistic atmosphere that captured her imagination and sparked her early interest in visual storytelling. Yana continued her education and eventually pursued a business degree, all while nurturing a lifelong passion for photography, visual storytelling, and film.

Drawn to character-driven narratives and short stories with twist endings, she later embraced a midlife creative pivot and enrolled at SF Film School where she wrote and directed her first student short film, The Fare. Yana continues to develop original short scripts, mini-stories, and concept pieces that explore emotional tension and unexpected turns, building a growing body of work as an emerging screenwriter and filmmaker.