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Derek Howard

Derek Howard

Cinematographer and editor · Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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.

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Biography from TMDB.

From
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Works as
Cinematographer and editor
Titles
15 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 24% in 30 days

What are Derek Howard's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
41%
Society
17%
Ideas
14%
Survival
11%
Bonds
7%
Morality
7%
Power
3%
Purpose5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope3 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 10 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 8 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 2 · Intense 3

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 5 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 3

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
8
Hopeful
7
Melancholic
5
Tense
4
Warm
3
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous4
  • Other1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Derek Howard's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Derek Howard's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

27 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.

  • Rapinoe(2026)

    Cinematographer

  • How to Talk to Lydia? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Editor

  • Eugene the Marine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Cinematographer

  • Brats(2024)

    Additional Photography

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • The Tuba Thieves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Cinematographer

  • Stormy(2024)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • The ABCs of Book Banning(2023)

    Additional Photography

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Not Wasting My Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Director

  • Plan C(2023)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Underground (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer

  • Swan Song(2023)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • A Tree of Life(2022)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • The Color of Ink(2022)

    Additional Camera

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Sisters on Track(2021)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Annea Lockwood: A Film About Listening (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Cinematographer

  • Bitterbrush(2021)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Down a Dark Stairwell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Camera Operator

  • David Harvey and the City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Cinematographer

  • The Hottest August(2019)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Hail Satan?(2019)

    Additional Camera

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The Harvesters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director

  • In the Making(2018)

    Show Cinematographer

  • The Castle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Cinematographer

  • The Dazzling Light of Sunset(2016)

    Editor

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • My Prairie Home(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Bakhmaro (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Editor

  • Derailments (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Cinematographer · Producer

Career shape

A full career of 22 titles from 2011 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Bitterbrush (2021)

$28K worldwide

Highest rated

Stormy (2024)

Midcredits 51st

Most popular right now

Bitterbrush (2021)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing3 of 22: 2 only directing, 1 with another roleProducing2 of 22: 0 only producing, 2 with another roleCinematography13 of 22: 11 only cinematography, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score55thEditing3 of 22: 2 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew5 of 22: 5 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

2010s7 · crew2020s15 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Derek Howard's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of the 13 of 14 with a score; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

28thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th10

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Divisive2
  • Cult Classic3
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · cinematographer

Plan C (2023)

92nd percentile spread · 25% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Swan Song (2023)

Midcredits 78th · 65% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 74/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 76, detractors 78. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Derek Howard work with?

People who share at least 2 of Derek Howard's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Chelsea McMullan shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Cinematographers and editors

Producers