Filmmaker Victoria Mahoney has joined the roster of Serial Pictures, thus securing her first representation in the U.S. for commercials, branded entertainment and music videos.
Mahoney made history as the first African American female director to come aboard the Star Wars franchise when she recently completed directing second unit for executive producer and director J.J. Abrams on the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker.
In her latest work, she bridged her film and commercial careers, directing a spot for United Airlines and Star Wars. Titled “Fly The Friendly Galaxy,” the commercial promotes the airliner’s partnership with the film, featuring one of the fleet’s actual aircraft marshallers signaling a United plane for takeoff, when, suddenly, she’s transported to another planet–her wands become lightsabers and the aircraft transforms into a A-wing interceptor, as she guides the starfighter to safety.
Mahoney is also an accomplished television director, having helmed episodes of popular series, including Grey’s Anatomy, Claws, I Am The Night, You, Power, Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar and the DuVernay and Greg Berlanti-produced The Red Line.
“Victoria’s cinematic vision will transport you to galaxies far far away, and yet she has this incredible ability to deeply connect with people and tell stories from a place of truth and empathy. She crafts beautiful unfiltered performances with a strong visual eye,” said Violaine Etienne, founding partner of Serial Pictures.
Mahoney said she was drawn to Serial Pictures in part by Etienne’s commitment to supporting filmmakers as well as the overall support in place for directors at the company.
Originally from New York, Mahoney began her artistic career as a theater actress. After working off Broadway, she moved to Los Angeles, where she quickly gained acting credits including Seinfeld and Legally Blonde. She then transitioned into writing with the script for her emotionally nuanced feature debut Yelling to the Sky, about a teenager growing up in a mixed-race family. The film, which Mahoney also directed and produced, starred Zoë Kravitz, Jason Clarke, Gabourney Sidibe and Tim Blake Nelson. Mahoney developed the film through the Directors and Screenwriters Sundance Institute Labs and was named an Auerbach Fellow, Annenberg Fellow, Cinereach Fellow, Maryland Fellow, Tribeca Fellow and IFP Narrative Lab fellow for her work. Yelling to the Sky world premiered in “Main Competition” at the Berlin Film Festival where it was nominated for the Golden Bear.
The Rise of Skywalker, which will be released in theaters December 20, is the final chapter of the epic Skywalker saga begun 42 years ago with Star Wars: A New Hope. In The Rise of Skywalker, Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) journey continues as she, Poe (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and the rest of the surviving Resistance face Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order once more.
Mahoney is also currently in development, along with DuVernay and Charles D. King’s Macro, on adapting Octavia E. Butler’s sci-fi novel "Dawn" into a television series. The 1987 classic about an African American woman who works with aliens to resurrect the human race 250 years after a nuclear war will notably be the first time that the Nebula- and Hugo Award-winning author’s work has been adapted for television.
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