THE MERCURY 13 tells the story of little known heroes of the early days of the Space Race: the women who were tested to be astronauts at the same time as the Mercury 7 male astronauts, as well as the visionary scientist who championed them - people with the Right Stuff at the wrong time.
Movies like The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, and the miniseries From The Earth To The Moon have made John Glenn and the original Mercury 7 astronauts part of our collective consciousness. Alongside these men was another group of American Heroes -- the Mercury 13. Inspired by the true history of the thirteen women tested to be astronauts in the early '60s, THE MERCURY 13 is a drama about being extraordinary before your time. Jerrie Cobb and Jackie Cochran, two of the fastest pilots in America, are recruited for testing by Randy Lovelace, the scientist who tests the male Mercury astronauts, and are found to excel – but while these women have the Right Stuff, it's the wrong time. Told through the the counterpoint of the journeys of two heroic women, this is a complex and fascinating story about American culture, politics, and the space race that resonates today.
Named by Variety as "talent to watch," Maria has directed 6 successful independent feature films, the latest of which are currently available on Netflix and Amazon: A Sort of Homecoming, with Laura Marano and Katherine McNamara, and For the Love of George, with Rosanna Arquette, Tate Donovan, Rex Lee & Kristen Johnston. Earlier films include Just Friends, Temps, and Manna from Heaven (MGM/SONY).
Burton helms Five Sisters Productions with her real-life siblings, through which she directed the pilot for the Emmy qualifying short form series Old Guy and produced The Happiest Day of His Life (MTV/Logo), Kings, Queens & In-Betweens, and Julia Sweeney's "Letting Go of God" (Showtime). Burton has been selected for television directing programs including DGA's DDI Emerging Directors Mentorship Program, Disney/ABC Directors, CBS Directing Initiative, Ryan Murphy's HALF Foundation, SONY Diverse Directors, and ProjectHER, for which she wrote and directed the short pilot Good Eggs. Burton has served on the DGA National Board (Alt), Co-Chair of DGA's WSC and DGA's CJC, and past Co-Chair of Alliance of Women Directors. She's currently directing the indie pilot, Now What?, and developing projects including Mercury 13, a drama inspired by the women tested for the original astronaut program -- named to the Athena List, the BitchList/Bechdel List, won a CineStory Fellowship, and a Nicholl Quarterfinalist. // I'm the eldest of five sisters raised by activist parents. Our Dad taught us to proudly claim our heritage of the Indigenous American and Mexicans of early California, our Irish ex-Catholic Mom had us pass out fliers with her when she campaigned as a delegate for Shirley Chisholm, and the mix of cultures we grew up with inculcated empathy and made me a bit of a chameleon. Add to this a childhood of creatively low-budget travel and short-term residences in different cultures from Malaysia to France to India, and my interest in seeing the world through different perspectives led to my exploring character through storytelling.
Nicholl Fellowship 2016 - Quarterfinalist
Athena List 2016 - Winner
Writers Lab 2021 - Semifinalist
