HMS Alum Directs Movie

Valerie H. Weiss began a degree program at Harvard Medical School—and ended up as a film writer and a director.

But Weiss’s first feature film, entitled “Losing Control,” brings her back to the lab. A romantic comedy, the film tracks the story of a female scientist determined to use scientific methods on her love life to discern whether her boyfriend who has recently proposed to her is "The One."

“Losing Control” has been screened at thirty film festivals. It will open in New York this week and in the Kendall Square Cinema on April 6.

Weiss said she decided to write the screenplay while pursuing a doctorate in biophysics at Harvard, drawing inspiration from the quirky professors and fellow students that she met while completing her degree.

Weiss said that she hopes the film will provide an authentic portrayal of the lives of young, female scientists—a group which is often represented by narrow stereotypes, she said.

For example, Weiss said she has occasionally has gone clubbing with a friend to pass the time between setting up her experiments and collecting the results.

“People need to see this experience of women and how hard we work, but also how feminine female scientists can be,” she said. “We had very active social lives. I think people don’t really see scientists like that, especially women scientists.”

Weiss said she hopes that the film’s more well-rounded—but comical—representation of women in science will attract more people to pursue a career in science.

Throughout her time at the Medical School, Weiss said she took copious notes with a film about a female scientist in mind. “I had notes on scraps of Kimwipes and on paper towels, and whenever something would happen, I’d write it down on graph paper or whatever was in front of me,” Weiss said.

Weiss said that she sees a strong creative connection between artistic and scientific pursuits. “Everything in science is extremely creative because you’re exploring new territories and art is the same way,” Weiss said.

After receiving her masters degree from the Medical School and a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Weiss headed to LA where she participated in the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women and the AFI Catalyst Workshop, a program focused on addressing the country’s need for more scientists and engineers by including science in films in an effort to inspire audiences to pursue science as a career.

Though Weiss had no formal training in filmmaking, she minored in theater as an undergraduate at Princeton and actively promoted filmmaking at Dudley House, serving as the Filmmaker-in-Residence and Film Festival Director for the Dudley program through 2003, according to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She also founded the Dudley House Film Festival in 1999.

When film studios expressed interest in her film on the condition that she significantly alter the screenplay, Weiss said she decided to stay true to her original vision and pursue the film independently.

According to Weiss, she cut the budget to less than 10 percent of her initial estimate, raised all of the necessary funds in a month, and enlisted a team of professionals and amateurs to help in the production process. Some members of the cast and production staff are also graduates or affiliates of Harvard.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: March 20, 2012

Due to an error in a press release, an earlier verison of this article incorrectly stated that Valerie H. Weiss received a Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School. In fact,  she received a masters degree from the Medical School and a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.