Maurizio Benazzo

Maurizio Benazzo grew up in Italy and arrived in the United States in 1984 aboard a ninety-eight-year-old sailboat. He began working as an actor, model, and filmmaker, but his thirst for knowledge wasn’t quenched until 2001, when he discovered “I Am That,” the seminal work of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, while filming the award-winning documentary “Short Road to Nirvana” in India.

Maurizio and Zaya combined their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was the documentary “Rays of the Absolute” about the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This project spurred their next creative endeavor: SAND, a global community inspired by ancient wisdom traditions, grounded in modern science, and based on direct experience. In 2018, they met Gabor Maté and decided to film about him, resulting in the acclaimed film “The Wisdom of Trauma.” They subsequently directed and produced “Where the Olive Trees Weep” and, more recently, the series “The Eternal Song: The Wisdom of the Ancestors.”

They live, work, and enjoy life on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo peoples in Sebastopol, California.