Michael Howard (born Feb 18, 1978) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and founder of the film compan
Invisible Productions

Background

Howard's acting career began at a young age when he made an appearance on Snowball Satellite TV in Germany and acted in the Twas the Night Before Christmas'' play in middle school. He attended High School at Charles M. Russell High School and was in numerous choirs and did some acting as well. After High School, he was premed in college pursuing a degree in biology in Alaska and became an

Emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics a ...

and worked in an emergency room. He landed a lead role in a local play and then after receiving an associate degree from the University of Alaska, Howard promptly quit medicine and started studying filmmaking and acting. In 1998, he read and reviewed scripts for

American Zoetrope American Zoetrope (also known as Omni Zoetrope from 1977 to 1980 and Zoetrope Studios from 1980 until 1990) is a privately run American film production company, centered in San Francisco, California and founded by Francis Ford Coppola and Georg ...

while writing his first screenplay, ''Reality of Life''. Howard then got his Bachelors degree in Recording Arts at the

University of Colorado Colorado Springs The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is a public research university in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is one of four campuses that make up the University of Colorado system. As of Fall 2017, UCCS had over 12,400 undergraduate ...

and created his own indie film company by the name of Invisible Productions. His company has produced short films, documentaries, and features.

Career

While studying medicine in Alaska, Howard landed a starring role in ''Jugger's Rain'' and ''

Tony n' Tina's Wedding ''Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding'' is an "environmental/immersive theatre" event based on a traditional Italian-American wedding and reception, with warm and intrusive stereotypes exaggerated for comic effect. Audience members are treated as guests at ...

'' which eventually led into his film career. While making films, Howard continued acting in the theatre at times with Theatreworks in Colorado in roles for ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'', '' Romeo and Juliet'', and ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

''. One of Howard's early short films entitled ''Lost'' garnered him awards for Best Actor at the 2004 Biarritz International Short Film Festival and Best Screenplay at the 2004 Festival de Cine Internacional de Barcelona. He was also nominated for Best Actor and Best Film at the New York Short Film Festival and Best Performance at the San Francisco Short Film Festival. His first feature film was that of his first screenplay, ''Reality of Life''. Howard also directed it and took on a supporting actor role and the film went on to play in Los Angeles and New York. Michaelhoward2

In 2007, Howard was brought onto the

Vail Film Festival The Vail Film Festival is an independent film festival that has taken place annually in Vail, Colorado since 2004. The 19th annual Vail Film Festival will take place virtually from December 1 to 4, 2022. The festival was founded by Sean Cross and ...

by Sean Cross and Scott Cross to be the official videographer for the festival and to shoot and edit the festival including promotions, award ceremonies, parties, screenings, red carpet, and interviews. Howard handles the still photography and videography throughout the festival. This also led to editing commercials for Comcast cable including promotions for companies including Cadillac,

Stella Artois Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ir ...

, and

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

. He continues in the position presently. Howard created a commercial for

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

that advertised the XL-1. A parody on drug addiction, the commercial showed a camera being borrowed for a short time from a dealer in an alley and as soon as a customer starts running around using it, it is stolen by another camera junkie. In 2008, Howard was invited into the worldwide photography project calle
The Head Project
Photographers received a mannequin head in the mail to use for two weeks and then sent it to a photographer in a different country. Howard was one of the few chosen from the United States and the only artist from the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. Due to his success with the Vail Film Festival, Howard was brought onto the Los Cabos International Film Festival as the official videographer for their inaugural edition. It launched in Los Cabos from 14 to 17 November 2012 with

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...

as the official festival adviser. Howard co-directed the 2012 Hint Fiction Film Contest with actor/host Bill LeVasseur, based on the published collection of short stories also entitled ''Hint Fiction''. The contest finalists screened at the Vail Film Festival and Howard and LeVasseur spoke about the contest and filmmaking in the short form afterward. The contest gave aspiring filmmakers a chance to work with stories written by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

Édith Piaf Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars. Pia ...

, or Eric Hsu in creating their 60-second film. Howard brought on writer/filmmaker

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

and filmmaker/photographer

Tao Ruspoli Tao Ruspoli (; born 7 November 1975) is an Italian-American filmmaker, photographer, musician, and co-founder of The Bombay Beach Biennale. Early life Ruspoli was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and raised in Rome, Italy and Los Angeles, California ...

to be celebrity judges for the contest. Howard wrote and directed his second feature film entitled

Where We're Meant to Be ''Where We're Meant to Be'' is a 2016 American drama film written and directed by Michael Howard. The film travels in and out of the lives of a number of different characters as each one connects to the next during their most pivotal moments. The ...

and it stars

Blayne Weaver Blayne Nutron Weaver (born April 9, 1976) is an American actor, and filmmaker. He is best known for voicing Peter Pan in ''Return to Never Land'' (2002). Early life Weaver was born in Bossier City, Louisiana on April 9, 1976. Career Weaver b ...

( Manic,

Return to Never Land ''Return to Never Land'' (also known as ''Peter Pan in: Return to Never Land'' and later retitled ''Peter Pan II: Return to Never Land'' on current home video release) is a 2002 American animated adventure fantasy film produced by Disney MovieToon ...

)
Tate Hanyok
(

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...

, Shameless), and Sarah Bousquet. The film travels in and out of the lives of a number of different characters as each one connects to the next during their most pivotal moments. It began its festival run in 2016 and was picked up for distribution by Turn Key Films in 2017. During its festival run, the film won multiple Best Film awards as well as awards for Best Screenplay, Audience Award, and various awards for its castmembers. The film also garnered additional nominations for Best Film and a variety of acting roles. The score was written by Steven Grove and the soundtrack consists of songs from

Greg Laswell Greg Laswell (born April 26, 1974) is an American musician, recording engineer, and record producer from San Diego, California. He attended high school at Valley Christian High School in Cerritos, California. He has released 7 studio albums: '' ...

, Cary Brothers, Jack the Radio, Day at the Fair, Buddy (band),

Tom Rosenthal (musician) Tom Rosenthal (born 26 August 1986) is an English singer-songwriter and composer. His music has been described as "short, expertly crafted pop songs". Music Rosenthal has released 6 albums to date, all of them self-released on his own label ...

Butterfly Boucher Butterfly Giselle Grace Boucher (born 2 June 1979) is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer born in Adelaide. From the age of 15 years she played bass guitar in her older sister, Rebecca Boucher Burns (Becca ...

, and other indie artists from around the world. It was released in the United States and the United Kingdom via Flix Premiere in July 2017. Reviews consisted of lines such as "A thoughtful, beautiful film full of love and emotion…it might just change how you see the world.", "...bravely written script with heartfelt dialogue as well as compelling character development.", “An inventive and exciting approach to storytelling.”, and "Where We're Meant to Be is an indie gem.".

Background

Career

Filmography

References

External links