Jason Lei Howden

Jason Lei Howden (born January 3, 1979) is a New Zealand writer, director and visual effects artist.
He is best known for his action and horror comedy feature films Deathgasm and Guns Akimbo.
==Personal Life==
Jason Lei Howden was born in a small town called Greymouth[1] in the South Island of New Zealand.
He moved around a lot of small towns before settling attending Nelson College for Boys. He moved
to Wellington in 2002 where he studied film and started writing and directing.
==Career==
Jason left high school at the age of seventeen and began his career as a television cameraman and
editor at a local television station in Nelson. He gained an NZQA Certificate of Television and Video
Production in 1999. Howden moved to Wellington and attended Avalon Film and Television School in
2003 and then New Zealand Film School in 2005[2]. In order to finish his final film, he taught himself
visual effects. Since 2005 Howden has been a visual effects compositor on films such as War of the
Planet of the Apes, Gods of Egypt, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, The Hobbit: Desolation of
Smaug, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Man of Steel, Avengers, Wolverine, The Great Gatsby
and Prometheus [3]. During this time he wrote and directed several short films. In 2014 Howden
wrote his first feature Deathgasm as an entry into the Make My Horror Movie film making
competition. He won NZ$200,000 to make the film[4] funded by MPI Media Group and the New
Zealand Film Commission. The resulting splatter film was a hit with genre fans and played in over
seventy film festivals [5]. In 2017 his second feature script Guns Akimbo was acquired by Occupant
Entertainment. Guns Akimbo stars Daniel Radcliffe, Samara Weaving and Ned Dennehy. It premiered
at Toronto Film Festival in 2019.
Writing and Directing Filmography and Festival Recognition
Deathgasm 2015
South by Southwest - Premiere
Toronto After Dark Film Festival - Best Feature Film, Best Special Effects, Best Music, Best Kill, Best
Gore
Frightfest UK - Selection
Festival de cine de Terror de Molins de Rej - Best Feature Film, Best Actor (Milo Cawthorne)
Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival – Audience Award
Hard Line Film Festival, Germany – Audience Award
L’Absurde Séance Film Festival – Audience Award
Arizona Underground Film Festival – Audience Award
Vancouver International Film Festival – Selection
Melbourne International Film Festival – Selection
Sydney International Film Festival – Selection
Guns Akimbo 2019-2020
Toronto Film Festival – Premiere
Fantastic Fest, Austin Texas – Selection
Sitges International Film Festival – Selection
Future Work
In 2015 there was brief speculation of a sequel to Deathgasm, titled Deathgasm Part 2:
Goremageddon was in development [6]. It was announced on the 10th of May 2019 that Grimmfest
Films would produce the film [7].
Controversy
Leading up to Guns Akimbo’s release, Howden drew criticism for a series of tweets voicing his
outrage and naming several writers he claimed bullied Dilara Elbir, editor of Much Ado About
Cinema into attempting suicide [8]. Elbir had a private message leaked that used a racial slur and
Howden’s comments about online bullying were perceived as trivialising racism. [9] The subsequent
accusations of racism negatively impacted Guns Akimbo’s box office takings.
==In the media==
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== References ==
Category:New Zealand writers
Category:New Zealand film directors
Category:New Zealand artists