When Flames Dance: A Colorful Evening

Michael Mike Canon is a modern-day alchemist who transforms emotions into stories that help audiences heal. As the son of immigrants who fled violence, persecution, and war, Canon grew up hearing real human stories infused with his mother’s sensational details and his father’s sense of humor. Thus, Canon is known for exploring deep, dark, and challenging subject matters with a spark of magic & love.

His 35mm thesis, When a Flame Stands Still (2016), is a love story in the midst of the Holocaust that touched audiences around the globe. The film shot Canon to Variety’s list of the “Top Students to Watch,” and earned him ongoing support from BAFTA and the HFPA. Canon’s 16mm short, C A·D E N C E (2021), is a walk through trauma in the mind of a veteran. Filmed safely during the pandemic, it had its world premiere at Dances with Films, received “First Place Experimental” at the USA Film Festival, and was featured by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Japan.

At the age of 16, Canon skipped school to attend Robert Mckee’s “Story” seminar, where he was the youngest writer in attendance. While earning his B.A. in Cinema & Television Arts, Canon found real-life experience as a camera operator for Val Kilmer, served as a production assistant on multiple studio pictures, and later became a story analyst for Mad Chance Productions (American Sniper).

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canon launched his multi-branch organization, Stand Still Studios LLC. Through the use of literature, entertainment, and other mediums, its mission is to capture, create, and curate stories that remind audiences, “when life comes to a standstill, we still stand.”

Canon is currently directing a documentary about a female artist during an ongoing war and creating a multi-medium book. In between projects, Canon upholsters his own furniture, directs dance films, and dances professionally himself.

Yet one of his truest joys is working as a videographer for Holocaust Museum L.A, where he also mentors young students on documentary filmmaking. Together, they bring the true stories of survivors to light, to life, and to you.