Ben Sainsbury (born December 17, 1972) is a dual US/

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, and

freelance journalist ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

Background

Sainsbury was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada, and was raised for eight years in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico after a family move. Upon returning to Canada, he lived with his family in

Seguin, Ontario Seguin is a township in central Ontario, Canada, in the District of Parry Sound. History The Township of Seguin was created by Minister's Order, dated May 8, 1997. Pursuant to this Order, the Township of Seguin became a newly incorporated munici ...

and attended high school in Rosseau. After high school, he lived in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

for 16 years and studied acting, earning earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in film making at

College of Marin The College of Marin, (known as Marin Junior College, 1926–1947) is a Public college, public community college in Marin County, California, with two campuses, one in Kentfield, California, Kentfield, and the second in Novato, California, Novat ...

. In 2005, he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in professional writing at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

film school, while working as an actor in commercials to help pay for his film projects and schooling. Sainsbury holds

dual Dual or Duals may refer to: Paired/two things * Dual (mathematics), a notion of paired concepts that mirror one another ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality *** see more cases in :Duality theories * Dual number, a nu ...

Canadian-U.S. citizenship, and did a three-year enlistment term in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in Psychological Operations. While with his unit, he was trained in the staging of mock battlefield productions and the dealing with of enemies through use of loud music, gathering of intelligence, distribution of surrender propaganda leaflets, and the broadcasting of fake tank noises. His animated film ''Private Snuffy'' was inspired by the torture and prisoner abuse committed by military interrogators at

Abu Ghraib Abu Ghraib ( or ; ) is a city in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq, located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000 (2003). The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghra ...

, and based upon an article he wrote about the incidents for ''

Now Magazine ''Now'' (styled as ''NOW''), also known as ''NOW Magazine'' is an online publication based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Through most of its existence, ''Now'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper. Physical publication of ''Now'' was suspended ...

'' in Toronto. He obtained a grant from the

Northern Ontario Heritage Fund The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is a Crown corporation and development agency of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines in the Canadian province of Ontario, whose purpose is to provide funding and program support to ...

to complete the project, and sells computer software in Toronto to make a living. While in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

working on a PhD on media studies, he became a freelance reporter for ''PeaceReporter'' (Milan, Italy), for which he wrote articles on his military service. The article he wrote for ''

'' in Toronto, which inspired his film ''Private Snuffy'', was translated into Italian for ''PeaceReporter''. ''Private Snuffy'' premiered on April 12, 2011, at the Tiburon International Film Festival in

Tiburon, California Tiburon ( ; , ) is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. It is located on the Tiburon Peninsula, which reaches south into the San Francisco Bay. It shares a ZIP code (94920) with the smaller incorporated city of Belvedere (formerly ...

. Co-founded and is the CEO of Marion Surgical - a virtual reality surgical simulation start up.

Filmography

* ''Jail Bait'' (2004, short) * ''Pharma'' (2008) * ''Into Darkness'' (2010) * ''Private Snuffy'' (2011)

Recognition

* 2011, Won 'Best Animation Award' at Cinefest Sudbury for ''Private Sunffy''

References

External links

* Retrieved on 2009-12-22 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sainsbury, Ben Living people American reporters and correspondents American male screenwriters American animated film directors Film directors from Toronto Writers from Toronto 1972 births USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni College of Marin alumni American male non-fiction writers