D I R E C T O R
W R I T E R
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A L C H E M I S T
Supported by BAFTA, HFPA, & Mother Nature.
Michael Mike Canon alchemizes raw human emotion into cinematic stories that resonate, reverberate, and inspire. As the son of immigrants who survived persecution and war, Canon was raised on stories that fused survival with imagination——fueling a directorial lens shaped by magic, wonder, and love.
His 35mm thesis, When a Flame Stands Still, got him support from BAFTA, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and won him a spot on Variety’s “Top Students to Watch.” His 16mm short, C A·D E N C E premiered at Dances With Films, received First Place Experimental at the USA Film Festival, was featured by the Red Cross in Japan, and helped raise money for veterans and their families across the United States of America.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Canon founded Stand Still Studios LLC, a hyper-media imagination engine that captures the real, creates the realm, and delivers the magical through multiple artistic mediums.
He is currently directing A Colorful Evening, a romantic dance film inspired by a secret invitation; A Thousand Days of Healing, a feature documentary following 1,000 artists processing trauma over the course of 1,000 days; and In (One Day), a 16mm documentary filmed in a war zone.
Between films, he is releasing The Thoughts of Others, an interactive book series. An exhibit inspired by his documentary, (500) Days of Healing is currently on view at the Museum of Tolerance, as part of the 8 Project’s “Art Will S8T You Free.”
When he’s not transmuting emotions, Canon can be found performing dance routines, upholstering his own furniture, and mentoring the next generation of storytellers at Holocaust Museum L.A. found directing dance films, upholstering his own furniture, or mentoring the next generation of storytellers at Holocaust Museum L.A.
Michael Mike Canon 