Michael Mahonen was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada - a former mining town in north-eastern Ontario. He studied at and graduated from George Brown College in 1989. In 2002 he wrote a script about persecution of a spiritual group in China. The script became a movie called "Sandstorm" which Michael not only directed but was also the co-producer. "Sandstorm" has, as of January 1, 2005, won 17 awards in various film festivals around the world. Awards for "Best Film", "Best Director" and "Best of the Festival".
