Michael Stillwater

Michael Stillwater is a filmmaker with a background in music, as composer, performer and educator. He is founder of Inner Harmony and Song Without Borders, production agency for his filmmaking and a project of US nonprofit Living Bridges. Together with his wife, Doris Laesser Stillwater, he produced a documentary series (2012-2019) entitled 'In Search of the Great Song'. The first film, 'Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen' (2012), received four Best Documentary awards and was nominated for a fifth in its premiere year, hailed 'a heartening rarity' by Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal. Showing the life and music of the most-performed living American choral composer, National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, the film was broadcast in Southern California over KCET in 2013. DVD of the film is distributed worldwide by Hal Leonard Corporation and Hanssler Classic/Naxos. His second documentary, 'In Search of the Great Song: Fifty voices. Twelve Countries. One Question.' is a panoramic and existential exploration of an underlying creative pulse common throughout the world, expressing through arts, faith and science. (April, 2016, recipient of two Best Documentary awards). DVD of the film is distributed by Beyond Words publishing in US/world, and J. Kamphausen Verlag in German-speaking countries. The third film in the series, 'Beyond the Fear of Singing: Unlock Your Voice, Release Your Song' explores the widening gap between 'performers' and 'non-performers', the healing journey of acceptance and emergence from hiding our voices, and a global grassroots return, both individually and collectively, to appreciation for our natural song. Release date: April, 2019 Stillwater's collaborations with film composer Gary Malkin, notably Graceful Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying, and Care for the Journey: Messages and Music for Sustaining the Heart of Healthcare, have provided insight and comfort to thousands. Born in Washington, DC in 1953, he has lived on the West Coast of the US until 2006, in Switzerland from 2006-2017 , and now resides in Finland with his wife and film series co-producer, psychologist Doris Laesser Stillwater.