Maurizio Benazzo grew up in Italy, and in 1984 came to the United States on the Leudo “Felice Manin,” a 98-year-old Lateen sailboat. He started working as an actor, model, and filmmaker, but his thirst for knowledge was only satisfied in 2001 upon encountering I Am That, the seminal work by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, while he was in India shooting the award-winning documentary Short Cut to Nirvana.