Jason Lei Howden

Jason Howden is a New Zealand film director and visual effects artist.

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