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 alchemizing emotions, Canon can be found performing dance
routines, upholstering his own furniture, and mentoring the next generation of
storytellers at Holocaust Museum L.A.