BIO
Award-winning filmmaker Valerie Weiss is drawn to stories that explore complicated human relationships in feel-good ways. She has infused this tonal complexity into her feature films and dozens of television episodes, both in the streaming and broadcast space, while spanning the genres of action, thriller, drama, science-fiction and comedy.
Valerie's two episodes of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (Paramount+) have been called "instant classics" and her more recently released "The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail" puts Kirk in the Captain's chair for the first time and is being hailed as a backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff with Captain Kirk. Valerie directed a block of the new NCIS: TONY AND ZIVA spinoff (Paramount+) in Budapest as well as a new show for Amazon and Wonder Project called IT'S NOT LIKE THAT starring Scott Foley. Upcoming shows include the premiere block of Season 4 of the megahit GINNY AND GEORGIA (Netflix) and the science-based WATSON (CBS). Prior television work includes the finale of the limited series ECHOES (Netflix) for showrunners Brian Yorkey and Quinton Peeples and five episodes of Netflix's global YA sensation OUTER BANKS (Netflix). She directed multiple episodes for several of television's biggest producers including Shonda Rhimes, Dick Wolf, Greg Berlanti and Marc Cherry. As a producer and pilot director she has several projects in development, including YOU DON'T KNOW ME, a YA series set up at Escape Artists and MGM.
On the feature side, she will direct TALKING TOM, a hybrid movie (CG character in a live action world) based on the wildly popular "Talking Tom" app (18 billion downloads) being produced by Flywheel Media (Angry Birds 3) and Marla Studios. Valerie has written a delightful four quadrant comedy called DANCING DADS which her reps are in the process of setting up for her to direct. Valerie began her career in independent features, having directed her award-winning dramatic debut, A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET, starring Taryn Manning, and THE ARCHER, which premiered at SXSW. Her first studio film was MIXTAPE (Netflix). Starring Julie Bowen and Nick Thune, it's a nostalgic coming-of-age musical odyssey that scored a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, ranked as one of the Best Family Films of 2021 (Washington Post) and labeled one of the17 Best Happy Films (Entertainment Weekly).
In Valerie's seemingly incongruous previous existence, she studied X-ray Crystallography at Harvard Medical School, earning a Ph.D. in Biophysics and a Masters in Medical Science. Although well on her way to unlocking the molecular mysteries of the universe, she was irrepressibly drawn to the larger scale mysteries of human nature and pivoted to pursue her lifelong passions in the entertainment industry.
Valerie is the Co-Chair of the DGA’s Women's Steering Committee and was appointed to the DGA's Sustainable Future and Special Projects Committees by President Glatter. In 2018, Valerie's short film TRUE MAZE, a female-centric sequel to the MAZE RUNNER was selected out of 50 entries from AFI alumni to be produced by Fox Bridge Program. She is an alum of the AFI DWW Program. She is repped by CAA, 42mp and Range.
Valerie's two episodes of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (Paramount+) have been called "instant classics" and her more recently released "The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail" puts Kirk in the Captain's chair for the first time and is being hailed as a backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff with Captain Kirk. Valerie directed a block of the new NCIS: TONY AND ZIVA spinoff (Paramount+) in Budapest as well as a new show for Amazon and Wonder Project called IT'S NOT LIKE THAT starring Scott Foley. Upcoming shows include the premiere block of Season 4 of the megahit GINNY AND GEORGIA (Netflix) and the science-based WATSON (CBS). Prior television work includes the finale of the limited series ECHOES (Netflix) for showrunners Brian Yorkey and Quinton Peeples and five episodes of Netflix's global YA sensation OUTER BANKS (Netflix). She directed multiple episodes for several of television's biggest producers including Shonda Rhimes, Dick Wolf, Greg Berlanti and Marc Cherry. As a producer and pilot director she has several projects in development, including YOU DON'T KNOW ME, a YA series set up at Escape Artists and MGM.
On the feature side, she will direct TALKING TOM, a hybrid movie (CG character in a live action world) based on the wildly popular "Talking Tom" app (18 billion downloads) being produced by Flywheel Media (Angry Birds 3) and Marla Studios. Valerie has written a delightful four quadrant comedy called DANCING DADS which her reps are in the process of setting up for her to direct. Valerie began her career in independent features, having directed her award-winning dramatic debut, A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET, starring Taryn Manning, and THE ARCHER, which premiered at SXSW. Her first studio film was MIXTAPE (Netflix). Starring Julie Bowen and Nick Thune, it's a nostalgic coming-of-age musical odyssey that scored a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, ranked as one of the Best Family Films of 2021 (Washington Post) and labeled one of the17 Best Happy Films (Entertainment Weekly).
In Valerie's seemingly incongruous previous existence, she studied X-ray Crystallography at Harvard Medical School, earning a Ph.D. in Biophysics and a Masters in Medical Science. Although well on her way to unlocking the molecular mysteries of the universe, she was irrepressibly drawn to the larger scale mysteries of human nature and pivoted to pursue her lifelong passions in the entertainment industry.
Valerie is the Co-Chair of the DGA’s Women's Steering Committee and was appointed to the DGA's Sustainable Future and Special Projects Committees by President Glatter. In 2018, Valerie's short film TRUE MAZE, a female-centric sequel to the MAZE RUNNER was selected out of 50 entries from AFI alumni to be produced by Fox Bridge Program. She is an alum of the AFI DWW Program. She is repped by CAA, 42mp and Range.