John Macanas is a writer, actor, and director based in Vancouver. His journey as a storyteller began as a child and blossomed when his parents presented him with Roald Dahl books, teaching him that imagination and dreams can be brought to life through various forms of expression. His favorite Roald Dahl book is “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” but “George’s Marvelous Medicine” is a close second.

Writer As a writer, Macanas has worked as a copywriter, feature writer, news writer, Google stories writer, and SEO writer. He has covered food, pop culture, history, cinema, movies, television, house design, travel, and technology. He has worked with media companies like Static Media and Valnet Inc.

As a fiction writer, Macanas contributed to the feature film Keep It In The Streets and wrote the scripts for the short movies #ohnonotme, Strangers On The Bench, The Man With Three, and Prayers To The Gods Of The Lonely.

Actor His stage acting credits include Richard The Lion Heart in “The Lion In Winter (United Players),” Siya in “Soldierland (Sky Theatre Group),” Othello in “Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (Arts Umbrella),” and various characters as part of Vancouver’s VFS Sketch Comedy.

On the small screen, Macanas has appeared in Netflix’s “The Devil In Ohio,” and Facebook Watch’s “Limetown,” and his big screen selected credits include “Keep It In The Streets” and the award-winning romantic drama “Auganic ( Official Selection and Best LGBTG Short at 30th Palm Springs International Short, Winner Best Live Action Short 2024 DeadCenter Film Festival, and Official Selection at the 2024 Hollyshorts Film Festival).”

Filmmaker Macanas’ most recent movie which he wrote, directed, and acted in, “Prayers To The Gods of The Lonely (Official Selection at the 23rd Urban Mediamakers Film Festival),” is a meditation on the loneliness of modern living and a look into the small joys and despair that occur in a state of isolation.

Current Projects He is currently writing a play tentatively titled “Free,” which examines the human relationship with death, grief, and the journey of acceptance or resistance in the face of death.

Education Macanas has two B.A.s in Mass Communications (Journalism) and History (Winona and St.Cloud State University respectively), two M.A.s in History and Pacific and Asian Studies (History, Economics, and Media Studies) (St. Cloud State University and University Of Victoria respectively), and a diploma for Stage, Film, and TV acting from the Victoria Academy Of Dramatic Arts.

Hobbies/Practices When not creating stories, Macanas loves playing the guitar, writing songs, and taking long walks in nature, which are also conveniently part of his self-care routines. He also loves watching and keeping up with everything sports (football (soccer in North America), boxing, track and field, basketball, and American football).

He played football in college primarily as a defensive midfielder and right winger, but he might have been delusional enough to believe that he could play all positions. Macanas was also a middle-distance runner in high school, and his favorite distance was the 800m. When it comes time to wind down at the end of the day, Macanas loves sipping on a hot cup of peppermint tea with honey while enjoying a cinematic movie or a slow-burn TV show.

Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Stalker” is his favorite movie most of the year. However, the works of Wes Anderson, Claire Denis, Ingmar Bergman, Quentin Tarantino, Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Gasper Noe are among his favorites as well.

His most recent TV binge is HBO’s “Succession” and has likely watched uncountable reruns of the American “The Office” and “Friends.”

Favorite Quotes “Some people feel the rain, others get wet.” -Bob Marley-
“The soul becomes dyed with the colors of its thoughts.” -Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations-”