Meet Sarah J. Sommers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah J. Sommers.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sarah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Orange County, CA, in a nuclear family of four. I was the kid who wanted to try everything. I played soccer, did gymnastics, was on swim team, took art classes, played clarinet, sang in the choir, acted in plays, tried to write novels, etc. And barely any of these passions lasted more than a year or two, except acting and singing. I always loved to perform.

I spent every fall, spring, and summer in theater rehearsals. There is a type of inseparable bond that you make when you’re in the impressionable age group of 10-14 years old, and theater people became my family. I think I grew up a lot more than I was supposed to over those four years.

High School was a totally different animal. Suddenly, I didn’t know anyone and no one cared that I’d played Anna in the King and I in the 8th grade. After a few brutal rejections, my love for theater was dampened severely, and I didn’t know who I was anymore. I spent that first year of high school very lost and confused until my English class got into the creative writing unit.

In my newfound fervor, I found a summer intensive for creative writing at Columbia University in New York. I’d always been obsessed with New York and wanted to learn more about writing. If I thought I grew up a lot in theater, it was nothing to how much I grew up at Columbia.

I was the youngest person there by two years. Most everyone else was seventeen and from a foreign country. The Egyptians smoked a pack of cigarettes a day in the courtyard, the Russians were always out clubbing, and the Brazilians became my best friends. This was a summer of massive firsts for me: I kissed my first boy, I drank for the first time, I explored New York for the first time, I lived on my own for the first time. And most importantly, I wrote my first screenplay. Holy crap did that change the game.

With screenplays, I could combine my love for performance and storytelling with my love for creative writing. This was it! This was the epiphany I was looking for. Another school year went by, then it was summer and I was back in New York, this time at NYU for dramatic writing. This was the summer I was introduced to the greats. I wasn’t raised watching classic films, and discovering them changed everything I thought I knew about writing and creating.

Junior year of high school I managed to get the lead in the school musical and into Jazz choir. I took my most difficult classes (I still have nightmares about honors physics) and made a good group of friends. I wrote and directed my first short film called Bridette and Zelda. It featured performances by all my friends, my sister, my mom and it was horrible. But at the time, I was very proud of it.

That summer, I went to Dublin, Ireland and studied filmmaking. There I learned the filmmaker’s toolbox and how to design every single frame with intention. I went back to high school, signed up for the only film class they offered and made roughly eight short films. All of them unwatchable now, but I was trying things out and learning. That December, I was accepted to NYU’s film production program, which is still one of the happiest moments of my life.

Film school was incredible. Living in New York was incredible. I grew as a person, I grew as a filmmaker, and I made some life-long best friends and collaborators. But I didn’t realize until a few years later that I still hadn’t found my voice.

It wasn’t until I was out in the real world that I realized the types of stories I wanted to tell weren’t the dramatic gut-wrenching films I loved to watch, but the snarky-sarcastic comedies that shed light on complicated issues in a subtler way.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think my biggest struggle as a creator was finding my voice and the stories I want to tell. I remember my AP Language teacher writing on my essays “good structure, but where is your voice?” And I wanted to scream “I don’t know!!” But I think that also changes with maturity. As you grow into yourself more and test the boundaries of your beliefs and values, it starts to come naturally. Then one day you’re writing something and you go “Oh, okay I guess that’s my voice.”

The second biggest thing for me was and still is, getting that first foot in the door. It’s hard to convince someone to take a chance on you when they have no proof that you’ll come through. The only thing that’s helped me is making honest connections with people. As much as I hate to say the “networking” word, having someone in your corner can really help you get on the first rung of the ladder.

And I’m glad this issue is finally seeing the light with Times Up and #Metoo, but being a woman in this industry comes with its own challenges. And getting men, especially those in their “boys clubs”, to take me seriously and trust my opinion has been significantly harder than my male contemporaries. But that’s why I strongly believe we womxn have to stick together, reach down and support one another. That’s the only way we can turn this industry on its head.

Aside from work, my family has faced many challenges together. My freshman year of college, my sister was diagnosed with Meningitis, and after I graduated from college, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily, both of them are recovered and healthy now, but it definitely taught me a lot about pain, fear and love.

Throughout those moments of difficulty, we came together as a family to support each other. Even though we may not always see eye-to-eye, we were always there for each other when things got difficult. That truth was the inspiration for my most recent short film, Lingering, which talks about strained family dynamics in the wake of illness and injury.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a writer and director who recently completed my first short film since graduating college. Lingering tells the story of a young woman who, after a tragic injury destroys her gymnastics career, is trapped at home with her mom and no future. An unexpected visit from her estranged sister forces her to look beyond herself for a sense of direction.

Lingering is a grounded slice of life film that focuses on the struggles of one family. It was important to me when telling this female-led story to feature as many women in front of and behind the camera as possible. Fortunately, we were able to have a cast and crew of 90% women! Aside from the completed film, that is probably what I am most proud of.

We shot Lingering in Orange County and LA over a three-day weekend in January, which happened to fall over my birthday. Trust me, there is no better way to avoid a quarter-life crisis than to shoot a film on your birthday. I was so busy that I didn’t even realize it was my birthday until my lovely crew surprised me with cupcakes. Now, we are submitting Lingering to festivals all over the world with hopes to share our film with as many people as possible!

Aside from Lingering, I’m currently writing several female-led features and TV pilots, and am in development for my next short film, which is an LGBTQ+ coming of age romance. Additionally, I’m writing a two-hander comedy play about two incredible historical women who challenged the status quo.

I think what sets me apart as a storyteller is my passion for honest stories and finding the humor in them. Even things that are more high-concept, I like to ground my characters and make them relatable. I feel like fully developed characters are the key to achieving catharsis with your audience. In terms of humor, I have an off-kilter snarky sense of humor that bleeds into almost everything I do, adding a bit of punchiness to my work and personality. The world is dark enough already in my opinion. We can always find ways to drive a message with a bit of lilt and enjoyment.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This is a tricky one because I feel like I’m still at the beginning of my career. At this point, I think the proudest moment was the last day on set for Lingering. As is the case with most films, getting to production is the hardest battle. I had a producer fall through and a deadline I had to meet to find another one or I wouldn’t be able to make the film. Luckily, I found the most incredible producer who helped me put together an incredible crew. I also crowdfunded for the first time, which was a whole new and terrifying animal for me. I feel like every day I was panicking we wouldn’t meet our goal. So when we jumped over all the hurdles and transferred all the footage to the drives and everything was done, I was so proud of myself and my crew and what we accomplished.

But like I said, this is just the beginning and I’m looking forward to many more proud moments to come. This industry is inherently collaborative which is what I love about it! I’m always looking for new people to meet, learn from, and make awesome art together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sarahjsommers.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjsomme/

Image Credit:
@makenzie.calle, @meaaaganreyes, @_williamcalix

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