Jason Howden is a New Zealand film director and visual effects artist.
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Early life
Howden was born and raised in Greymouth, New Zealand. He left high school at age 17 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Career
Aged 17, Howden began working as a television cameraman and editor at a local television station in Nelson. He began his directing career with his short film Automaton in 2005. Howden wrote and directed his debut feature Deathgasm in 2014. The film won several awards at Toronto After Dark Film Festival and other international film festivals.
Between 2017 and 2018, Howden wrote the feature film Guns Akimbo, and an adaptation of video game Dead Island. In 2019, he directed Guns Akimbo, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2019. The film was released in New Zealand on 5 March 2020 by Madman Entertainment.
In September 2022, Howden was set to direct an adaptation of Monsters of Metal, based on the comics he had written with Llexi Leon. The director was also attached as a co-writer along with Leon.
Since 2001, Howden has been working as a visual effects artist on films. He has worked on visual effects in several Hollywood movies, including The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Man of Steel, Gods of Egypt, and War for the Planet of the Apes, among others.
Selected filmography
Director
2003: Parabiosis
2005: Automaton
2008: Veil
2010: Melodies of the Heart
2014: The Light Harvester
2015: Deathgasm
2019: Guns Akimbo
2025: Deathgasm 2: Goremageddon
Visual effects
2021: Spiderhead
2021: The Beatles: Get Back
2021: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
2021: Night Raiders
2017: War for the Planet of the Apes
2017: Pork Pie
2016: Gods of Egypt
2014: The Light Harvester
2014: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2013: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013: Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song
2013: The Wolverine
2013: Man of Steel
2012: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2005: Automaton
