Silas Howard
Silas Howard is an award-winning director, writer, and producer focused on telling honest, narratives filled with groundbreaking characters. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker brings both uncompromising vision and emotional insight to each of his projects, profoundly illuminating the experience of those who live outside the norm. His credits include executive producing and directing on FX’s Emmy nominated series Pose, executive producing and directing on Apple TV+’s Peabody Award winning Dickinson, and directing Sundance premiere and IFC Films internationally distributed film A Kid Like Jake. His television credits include directing on multiple seasons of Emmy award-winning Transparent, A League of Their Own, The Fosters, Faking It, This Is Us, High Maintenance, Tales of the City, Quantum Leap, and Josh Thomas’ Freeform show, Everything's Gonna Be Okay.
Howard’s highly anticipated feature film, Darby And The Dead, premiered exclusively on Hulu in December 2022. The film has an eclectic, cross-genre sensibility that is entirely unique following the protagonist Darby Harper, a teenager who is granted the ability to see ghosts after suffering a near death experience in her childhood. To combat the existential boredom of high school, Darby begins a side business counseling local spirits and encounters an unexpected acquaintance in the process.
Howard got his start in filmmaking by teaming up with artist Harry Dodge to create the feature film By Hook or By Crook. The two collaborators wrote, directed, and starred in the movie, driven by an overwhelming urge to communicate their experience in San Francisco’s queer community. Released in 2001, By Hook or By Crook premiered at Sundance Film Festival and won a host of prestigious awards (including the audience award at SXSW Film Festival and at Outfest), ultimately creating a powerful cultural impact that still endures today. Howard was also a founding member of the seminal queer punk band Tribe 8, co-founder of San Francisco legendary cafe and performance space Red Dora's Bearded Lady, and a Guggenheim Fellow in 2015.