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

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, 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 ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 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 municipa ...

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, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

for 16 years and studied acting, earning earned a

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

in film making at

College of Marin The College of Marin is a public community college in Marin County, California, with two campuses, one in Kentfield, and the second in Novato. It is the only institution operated by the Marin Community College District. College of Marin has been ...

. In 2005, he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an 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 practice.

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 C ...

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 (grammatical ...

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

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

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 (; ar, أبو غريب, ''Abū Ghurayb'') 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 t ...

, and based upon an article he wrote about the incidents for '' Now Magazine'' 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 f ...

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

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

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 '' Now Magazine'' 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 (; es, Tiburón, ) 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 with the smaller incorporated city of Belvedere (forme ...

, and later won the 'Best Animation Award' at the 2011 Cinefest in

Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the fifth largest in Canada. It is a ...

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

Filmography

* ''Jail Bait'' (2004) – uncompleted * ''Pharma'' (2008) * ''Into Darkness'' (2010) * ''Private Snuffy'' (2011)

Recognition

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

References

External links

* Retrieved on 2009-12-22
www.peacereporter.net article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainsbury, Ben Living people American reporters and correspondents American male screenwriters American 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