Ari Sandel is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. His career in the entertainment industry includes television, film, and music videos. Previously, he created and hosted the comedic TV segment, The Traveler, for the FX Channel's, The X Show. He 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. He co-wrote and directed the award-winning short film West Bank Story (2005), which premiered at Sundance and has screened at over one hundred film festivals worldwide, winning twenty. His most recent project, Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland (2006), was his feature documentary directorial debut and premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. He is very involved with various political organizations for peace in the Middle East and is currently developing several feature comedies. He holds a B.A. in Media Arts from the University of Arizona in Tucson where he also received a special certificate in Middle Eastern Studies. He went on to earn his Directing M.F.A. from the University of Southern California's school of Cinema-Television.