Lou Howe (born 30 June 1982) is an American filmmaker and writer. A native New Yorker, Howe initially intended to become a fiction writer before discovering documentary filmmaking during his first year at Harvard University. He later explored narrative filmmaking under visiting professor and filmmaker Hal Hartley, who became his first narrative mentor. After graduating from Harvard, Howe returned to New York and worked in various production roles, including a period as an assistant to producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler at Killer Films. He subsequently attended the American Film Institute, graduating in 2010 with a Master of Fine Arts in directing. While at AFI, Howe began developing Gabriel, a psychological drama centred on a mentally unstable young man struggling with love, isolation and his desire for a conventional family life. Howe initially developed the character through first-person journal entries written from Gabriel's perspective before shaping the material into a screenplay. The project was developed alongside his brother, producer Ben Howe, with Luca Borghese later joining as a producer. Howe's principal influences included Mike Leigh's Naked and David Thewlis's performance in the film. During his time at AFI, Howe also directed the thesis short My First Claire, which was subsequently nominated for a Student Academy Award. Gabriel received support from the Sundance Institute and Cinereach and participated in the IFP Narrative Labs. The film marked Howe's feature directorial debut and starred Rory Culkin in the title role.
