Derek Howard

Birth : , Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

History

Derek Howard is a director and cinematographer from Vancouver, Canada. His collaborations on short and feature length documentary and fiction films have led to screenings at the Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, HotDocs, IDFA, Clermont-Ferrand, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (Montreal), Festival des Films du Monde (Montreal), and many more. Derek has participated in the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam's Summer School, IDFAcademy, Reykjavik International Film Festival's Trans Atlantic Talent Lab, and the Berlinale Talents program. Derek was the assistant director and 2nd DOP on renowned director Victor Kossakovky's Venice Film Festival opening night gala film "Vivan Las Antipodas" (2011), and Oscar shortlisted "Aquarela" (2018). He shot Brett Story's latest documentary "The Hottest August," (True/False, SXSW, & Hotdocs 2019) as well as Emelie Mahdavian's feature length debut documentary "Bitterbrush." Most recently, Derek directed a short documentary called "The Harvesters" that premiered at the VIFF (2018) and True/False (2019), and is completing another short called "Underground" about sexual harassment on the subway.

Movies

Stormy
Cinematography
Delve into the life and times of Stormy Daniels as she shares her story and account of events that have become part of American history.
The Tuba Thieves
Director of Photography
A spate of robberies in Southern California schools had an oddly specific target: tubas. In this work of creative nonfiction, d/Deaf first-time feature director Alison O’Daniel presents the impact of these crimes from an unexpected angle. The film unfolds mimicking a game of telephone, where sound’s feeble transmissibility is proven as the story bends and weaves to human interpretation and miscommunication. The result is a stunning contribution to cinematic language. O’Daniel has developed a syntax of deafness that offers a complex, overlaid, surprising new texture, which offers a dimensional experience of deafness and reorients the audience auditorily in an unfamiliar and exhilarating way.
A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting
Director of Photography
On October 27th, 2018, a gunman opened fire inside a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing eleven people as they prayed, in what would become the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history. This documentary is a deeply personal portrait of the survivors, victims and family members, who share their harrowing first-hand accounts of the impact of the shooting on the community.
Sisters on Track
Director of Photography
Three track star sisters face obstacles in life and in competition as they pursue Junior Olympic dreams in this extraordinary coming of age journey.
Annea Lockwood / A Film About Listening
Director of Photography
Sam Green's intimate portrait of Annea Lockwood shares with us a glimpse into the enthralling world of sound that she has been exploring and creating for many years. It is a touching and personal story of imagination and love.
Down a Dark Stairwell
Camera Operator
Set in motion by a tragic police-involved shooting, two communities of color navigate fraught perceptions of injustice, inequality, and discrimination in the eyes of the law.
David Harvey and the City
Director of Photography
David Harvey discusses the spatial aspects of capital, his work in the US, and the development of Hudson Yards.
The Hottest August
Director of Photography
Brett Story's visionary look at New York City as it braces for an uncertain future.
Hail Satan?
Additional Camera
The story of The Satanic Temple, a controversial movement that combines religion and activism with the apparent purpose of questioning the basic foundations of US society.
The Harvesters
Director
Three Maasai men harvest honey in Kenya’s Mau Forest in this carefully composed portrait of often-invisible labour.
My Prairie Home
Director of Photography
A true Canadian iconoclast, acclaimed transgender country/electro-pop artist Rae Spoon revisits the stretches of rural Alberta that once constituted “home” and confronts memories of growing up queer in an abusive, evangelical household.
Bakhmaro
Editor
This German documentary looks inside a nearly idle restaurant in a dowdy building in the country of Georgia, its listless workers waiting for business to pick up. The mournful atmosphere serves as a metaphor for the uncertain future of Georgia.
Deragliamenti
Producer
Frederico Fellini's unmade film ll Viaggio di G. Mastorna Detto Fernet became a graphic novel, just before Fellini's death in 1993. This is the story of how that came to be, as told by long time Fellini collaborator and illustrator for ll Viaggio di G. Mastorna, Milo Manera. Combining still photography and moving images, the piece which was produced in conjunction with Fabrica, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. The short is anchored by an interview with Milo Minara shot entirely in stills. The interview discusses his personal take on the main existentialist themes of the book; this interview has been intercut with the actual graphic novel and what appears to be the lost footage (via recreation) of the story's first scene. This short doc is an exploration into dreams and fantasy, moving through different realities. Shot between Milan, Italy and Koln, Germany.
Deragliamenti
Director of Photography
Frederico Fellini's unmade film ll Viaggio di G. Mastorna Detto Fernet became a graphic novel, just before Fellini's death in 1993. This is the story of how that came to be, as told by long time Fellini collaborator and illustrator for ll Viaggio di G. Mastorna, Milo Manera. Combining still photography and moving images, the piece which was produced in conjunction with Fabrica, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. The short is anchored by an interview with Milo Minara shot entirely in stills. The interview discusses his personal take on the main existentialist themes of the book; this interview has been intercut with the actual graphic novel and what appears to be the lost footage (via recreation) of the story's first scene. This short doc is an exploration into dreams and fantasy, moving through different realities. Shot between Milan, Italy and Koln, Germany.
The Castle
Director of Photography
Formerly incarcerated people reassemble their lives at The Castle, a singular housing facility and a supportive home base created by The Fortune Society.