Ari Devon Sandel was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Calabasas and Tarzana, California. He went to Taft High School for a year and then graduated from Calabasas High. He studied Media Arts at the University of Arizona in Tucson where he also received a special certificate in Middle Eastern Studies. In 2004, he earned his Directing M.F.A. from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television. While at U.S.C, Ari founded and was president of the USC Entertainment Industry Network, an organization (boasting 300 members) that was designed to increase collaboration between students and industry professionals.Ari started his career in the entertainment industry in 1999, creating and hosting the comedic TV segment "The Traveler" for the FX Channel's "The X Show." Ari wrote, directed, and hosted the segment for two seasons as he traveled the globe, offering a tongue-in-cheek view of the world's unknown hot spots for the young and hip. Since then, Ari's Oscar win for West Bank Story (2005) brought him many opportunities to speak around the world about the Oscars and about the conflict in the Middle East as he has traveled to Europe, the Middle East, and even Chechnya. He lives in Los Angeles where he is developing several projects.