March 23, 2022
Page 7
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
Insecurity, Loneliness and Rejection
Portland
filmmaker on
dating scene
horrors
Filmmaker Sommer Martin
is back again with the release of
a horror short film, Swipe Left.
In a timely message of missing
Black and Indigenous women
in America, Swipe Left story is
of two individuals from diverse
backgrounds, dealing with inse-
curity, loneliness, and consistent
rejection using online dating to
connect in the notorious dating
scene in Portland.
One of the characters responds
with deep disappointment, the
other with blind rage. Swipe Left
stars Portland KOIN-6 Anchor
Ken Boddie as himself, Fallyn
Burton as Vanessa, Rollyn Staf-
ford as Frederick, and Marlena
Littleton as Mikayla.
Sommer Camp Productions,
LLC., a film, and television com-
pany, launched in November
2020 to redefine Oregon's film
and television industry by em-
phasizing and highlighting Black,
Indigenous, and People of Color
in horror.
"Starting a horror production
company was a natural progres-
sion of my work," Martin said.
"I've always been an avid fan of
horror, and I want to see people
who look like me in front and be-
hind the scenes. I don't normally
see this in my reality, so I decided
to create it."
Born and raised in Portland,
Sommer has a B.S. in Mass Com-
munications and Theater from
Tennessee State University and
an M.S. in Multimedia Journalism
from the University of Oregon.
A timely message about the epidemic of missing Black and Indigenous women is captured in
She's currently the Director of
Portland filmmaker Sommer Martin’s short film Swipe Left.
Downtown Marketing for the Port-
Part of the inspiration for 64,000-75,000 Black women and year internet predators reportedly land Business Alliance and, in her
Swipe Left is the real-life statis- girls are currently missing in the commit more than 16,000 abduc- free time, enjoys the arts, spending
tics of missing Black women in U.S., according to the Women's tions, 100 murders and thousands time with family, and volunteering
the United States. An estimated Media Center. In addition, each of rapes.
for humanitarian efforts.
Some classes can change the course of everything.
From carpentry and construction to computer science,
Career and Technical Education classes may be the
path to your passion. Talk to your school counselor or
visit Oregon.gov/CTE to learn more.
The CTE brand logo, brand positioning, theme, and
brand extensions are the property of NASDCTEc.