Public Education Through Film Important for Sacha Sommer

Sacha Sommer got his start in the film industry in the early 1990s, interning for Paramount Pictures as an assistant to Saturday Night Fever star Kevin Nides, and working on Tupac’s music videos “Keep Your Head Up” and “I Get Around” as an assistant to Terry Power at Power Films. Sacha Sommer’s early career also saw him acting and producing in a number of fiction-based television shows and films – crime dramas like The Chase and Dominic’s Castle, martial arts films like City Dragon, and comedy shows like Dick Clark Production’s “Bloopers and Practical Jokes.”

In 1995, however, Sacha Sommer entered the world of documentary filmmaking, setting out to educate the world about the invasion and occupation of Haiti through his award-winning film, “Intervention Chronicles of Terror.” Since then, Sacha Sommer’s filmmaking has largely focused on improving public education about important world issues through the use of film and media communications.

After a brief hiatus from filmmaking in the mid 2000s when Sacha Sommer decided to focus on teaching art and physical education to high schoolers, the director and producer has been working on various public education initiatives through film. In 2005, Sacha Sommer produced a public service announcement about the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center, and a PSA regarding the dangers of impact of drunk driving the following year. Sacha Sommer showed his support for America’s troops in 2007, acting as assistant director for commercials and recruitment materials for GoArmy.com and other US Army efforts.

In 2008, Sacha Sommer contributed his production and direction talent to Call & Response: A Concert to End Slavery, which brought together musicians and humanitarians to raise awareness of issues like labor slaver, sex trafficking, and the use of child soldiers around the world. After the Haitian earthquake in 2010, Sacha Sommer produced a video calling for international relief funding and documenting the devastation brought to Haiti by the earthquake. He is currently working on a documentary and a photo book regarding the devastation brought on by the earthquake.

Sacha Sommer’s Work on Call and Response: A Concert to End Slavery

Sacha Sommer, most well known as owner and founder of Arawak Pictures, Inc., contributed his production expertise and skills to humanitarian effort through the multimedia documentary film Call & Response: A Concert to End Slavery. As 1^st assistant director on the project, Sacha Sommer helped publicize the influence of slavery on the world today, as the public continues to be unaware of the fact that in the 21^st century, the slave trade is larger than it has been at any other point in history.

On the Staff of Call and Response, Sacha Sommer worked with well-known political and humanitarian figures like Daryl Hannah, Madeleine Albright, Ashley Judd, and Nicholas D. Kristoff. The documentary also involved a concert starring Moby, Imogen Heap, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Five for Fighting, Talib Kweli, and other stars invested in stopping the slave trade and supporting non-profit organizations. Sacha Sommer directed and produced a music video stemming from the concert, which received significant popularity and helped the get the artists’ message about stopping sex trafficking, labor slavery, and the use of child soldiers around the world.

Sacha Sommer has also been involved in other humanitarian efforts, most notably the effort to provide aid to the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. In fighting the effects of the destruction, Sacha Sommer has teamed up with the president of Haiti, Michelle Martelly, and Foundation Rose et Blanc to bring supplies, water, food, shelter, and medical treatment to those most affected by the destruction wrought by the earthquake. In the past, Sacha Sommer had filmed a documentary about the invasion of Hait by the United States, and in the wake of the earthquake, is directing and producing a video about the magnitude of destruction and the need for international aid, alongside Haiti’s Organization of Economic Development.

Athletics are a Focus for Sacha Sommer

When he is not producing and directing films, television shows, and music videos, Sacha Sommer enjoys engaging in a wide variety of athletic pursuits, which have always been a big part of his life. Sacha Sommer is a practitioner of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, as well as mixed martial arts, and enjoys competing in MMA competitions. He is a master of recurve archery, and became a certified level one archery instructor in 2010.

Sacha Sommer has long been involved in sports. While attending high school in Washington, DC, Sacha Sommer was a star of a number of different sports teams. From 1983–1989, Sacha Sommer played soccer with the MSI Select Soccer League, and in 1986–1988, he acted as the team’s captain. From 1987–1988, Sacha Sommer was team captain of the Edmund Burke School Junior Varsity Soccer team, in addition to his duties as captain of the MSI Select side.

While at Edmund Burke, Sacha Sommer was also the second seed player on the Junior Varsity tennis team. In 1987 and 1988, Sacha Sommer played junior varsity and later varsity basketball, and in 1988, Sacha Sommer was a member of the junior varsity wrestling team.

During a brief hiatus from his producing career, Sacha Sommer was a physical education coach at the SMART School Institute of Technology and Commerce, a charter middle and high school in Miami, FL. During this time, Sacha Sommer was elected Team Leader of the Physical Education department at SMART.

For Sacha Sommer, athletics are not merely a hobby, but an important part of staying focused on his career pursuits, and remaining fit and healthy. Sacha Sommer has found that when he is active through sports and exercise, he has more energy to devote to film production, is more clear-headed, and he also has a greater sense of overall well-being.