Dylan Rhys Howard is a Canadian filmmaker. As a director, his work has been described by the National Screen Institute as “fresh, nuanced storytelling and imagery that is evocative in its simplicity and intimacy.” In 2018, his short film Peak Oil was selected to be a part of Telefilm Canada’s Canada: Not Short OnTalent program and screened at the Marché Du Film Court at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France. Peak Oil also received an Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association award for Best Narrative Short and the A&E Short Filmmakers Award for Best Film at the National Screen Institute. His debut broadcast documentary effort, Digging In The Dirt, co-directed with Omar Mouallem, premiered on CBC Television in September 2019 and was featured in Hot Docs’ Spotlight Alberta series in early 2021. His directorial follow-up for Absolutely Canadian — Boys Will Be...Themselves — premiered on CBC Gem in October 2022. Eudaimonia, his first independent feature as writer/director, premiered at the Rainbow Visions film festival and went on to screen at the Calgary International Film Festival and AGLIFF in Austin, TX.
As a producer, Dylan prides himself on being able to leverage his experience navigating the inherently chaotic challenges of independent filmmaking to champion other filmmakers’ work. In 2020, Dylan co-produced the popular COVID Loves PSA campaign for ZGM and WTCHCRFT. The Lebanese Burger Mafia, a feature-length documentary produced by Dylan and directed by Omar Mouallem, had its world premiere at Hot Docs in 2023 where it was immediately picked up for distribution by levelFilm, subsequently played in theatres across Canada, and is now streaming on Paramount+. Concurrently, the slow-burn independent drama Hands That Bind, directed by Kyle Armstrong, associate-produced by Dylan, and starring Paul Sparks, Susan Kent, and Bruce Dern, also landed in Canadian theatres via Mongrel Media and now streams on Crave. In 2024, Dylan executive produced Making Kayfabe and produced Magic Hours both for CBC Absolutely Canadian, the latter of which received another AMPIA award for best long-form documentary.
Since the fall of 2024, Dylan works as a line producer for the National Film Board of Canada’s Western Documentary Unit, where he has the opportunity to work with filmmakers from across the country to tell stories that are vital to the continuing evolution of Canadian identity. He also continues to develop independent work with Back Road Productions in Edmonton and Vista Point Studios in Vancouver, and serves as the VP of Development for Trevor Anderson Films.
He lives in Edmonton with his wife, writer/filmmaker Lizzie Derksen, and their son Zooey.