Valerie Weiss

Valerie Heather Weiss (born 1973) is an American filmmaker and producer. She has directed and produced numerous films and founded the production company PhD Productions in 2004, which focuses on developing films rooted in science.

Weiss was raised in Philadelphia, PA. She attended Princeton University where she majored in Molecular Biology and earned a Certificate in Theater and Dance. She then attended Harvard University where she earned a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology as well as a Masters in Medical Sciences from Harvard Medical School. While at Harvard, she founded and was the Filmmaker-in-residence and Festival Director of the Dudley House Film Program, the organization's film program for graduate students from 1999-2003. Valerie was accepted into the Catalyst Workshop at the American Film Institute, which was for scientists who wanted to develop science into movies. She had already begun to develop the idea for Losing Control, but this was the first time she ever discussed it publicly. Later she was accepted to the American Film Institute’s prestigious Directing Workshop for Women where they went through three weeks of classes and each received some funds and equipment to make a short film within one week. She made a sci-fi social satire film called Transgressions.

Valerie founded PhD Productions in 2004 with her husband, Robert Johnson. PhD Productions is an independent film company based in Hollywood, California, making films that aim to bridge science and the arts.

Valerie met husband Robert Johnson at Princeton as cast members in a production of Cyrano de Bergerac at Princeton University. Together, they founded PhD Productions.

Director

Producer

Writer

Actress

Valerie Weiss’ second feature, A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET, is lauded by Glenn Close’s organization, Bring Change 2 Mind, as “heart wrenching and beautiful.” The film was a special premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival and earned the Audience Favorite, Gold Award - US Cinema Indie. After Mill Valley, A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET won the Stubbornly Independent Award at the Tallgrass Film Festival, and has gone on to play at numerous film festivals including the Chicago International Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Festival, and many more. A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET was also awarded the prestigious EDA Award for the Best Female-Directed Narrative Feature at the 2015 Whistler Film Festival by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.

Matt Fagerholm of RoberEbert.com writes about A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET: “In a commanding performance, Taryn Manning (Orange Is The New Black) plays Gloria, an Evanston mother wrestling with bipolar disorder and an imminent empty nest. Her dedicated daughter Beth (Madison Davenport) has a bright future ahead, but must decide if she will stay near home to care for her unpredictable mom or follow her own path. Emotionally raw and uncommonly observant, this coming-of-age drama balances the pull of family obligation against personal aspirations. By turns endearing, unsettling, and ultimately moving, A Light Beneath Their Feet is a triumph of empathetic filmmaking. There are no heroes and villains in this story, just ordinary people struggling to create a sense of normalcy in their day-to-day existence.”

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