We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalie Sutherland a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I had never been to “America”, but growing up in Scotland I had a dream and a big part of that dream consisted of coming to America. I got on a plane at 20 years old by myself, and flew to America. Straight to Los Angeles. I didn’t know what a “dime” was, how you could drive on the other side of the road, or even what an “Agent” was, but I knew I had a desire in my heart and nothing scared me. I didn’t know anyone in America, but it was an adventure. I had to figure out how to live in another Country by myself, how to get an apartment, a job, everything. I left my entire universe behind and my family and friends included, but I knew, without risk is without life, and life can be as adventurous as you want if you’re willing to take that risk. If you know that you are here, in this body, for the grand adventure, then anything is possible. Believing is Seeing. And you have to Dream, to Believe.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I believe in magic. I believe in Art. I believe through the medium of film we can uplift and change the world, and Lord knows the world needs uplifted. I believe through storytelling and inspiration we can spread more love and more hope on this planet. My goal was always to uplift others through art. I started on the stage very young in Scotland. I love the stage. There is some very special magic in the theatre, and you get to take the audience on this amazing journey with you. The journey of the Soul, feeling with you and remembering that we are all the same. We all feel. We all cry, we laugh, we grieve and we find hope in the darkest moments. Film always touched my Soul too. It’s a way for us not to feel alone in this life. I started writing and that writing turned to independent filmmaking. Yes, I worked on some television and did a great deal of stage, but I was always drawn to film. I believe there is great power in beautiful filmmaking. My baby daughter died 5 and a half years ago, Isabella. I was broken. I took to writing and pouring my insides out on to the page. I took her story and turned it into something that could inspire and help others. It’s a work in progress, but my calling moved from merely “entertainment” to saving others. Since her death I felt a calling unlike no other. I knew I could help others through this medium, and that, is the force that continues to drive me.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

After Isabella’a death, everything went black. I couldn’t understand how she was taken and I was still here. Nothing made sense anymore. My daughter had her whole life ahead of her. She was just a baby. I would have been happy to die. I’ve lived to this point and even though still young myself, I’d lived many more days than her. I didn’t know if I could ever come back from that. One day as I walked passed her bedroom, I felt a tiny pull on my sleeve. I stopped and I slowly walked into her bedroom. I felt her right beside me. I got my laptop and sat down at the coloring table in her room. I opened my computer and started to write. Within 4 days her entire story, of her life and death were staring at me from the page. She wanted me to tell her story. To spread her light, and to let others know that there are many of us out there. Many mothers and fathers struggling to understand the WHY… Why was my child taken? How could this happen?
So many don’t want to discuss the mother with the dead baby…. It’s not fun dinner talk. But we need to talk about it. We need to stop making it such a “thing”.
I believe Isabella made me write her story, and thus we began to film it.
Through my journey with my daughter, she has touched so many people. She changed so many people’s lives, and she changed me completely. Film is not what I used to think it is. My goal since her death has been to bring Hope, and that is what I will continue to do.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The “entertainment” industry is a tricky one. It’s competitive on a whole other scale, but there are areas of it that I have never fit in with. When 2020 hit I knew that we had to keep bringing the LIGHT. When the world turns to such darkness, that is always the opportunity for us to rise up and bring HOPE. If the power exists for something to be created, then the power also exists for it to be out-created. I have never been one to lower into the vibration of Fear. That’s not me. My Clan in Scotland is Sutherland, and our motto is ‘Sans Peur’, which means ‘Without Fear’. When you have walked through the valley of death you have no fear.
The industry as we knew it in 2020 shut down, but I knew I had a higher calling. I listened and I moved.
My husband and I drove to the Southeast and opened a Spiritual Center. We brought on Healers and brought an entire community together to start to raise the frequency of this planet.
It wasn’t writing, it wasn’t acting, it wasn’t directing, but it WAS creating. It WAS bringing HOPE, bringing LIGHT and helping the human race.
At a time when I could have given in to “waiting until the industry re-opened”, I had to do something to help.
My husband and I travel a lot. I juggle many different plates these days, but through the shifts in this world, we all must expand to that higher version of ourselves, and at times, what we once did may not fit because we have transformed, and once that caterpiller suddenly takes flight, the perspective is completely different.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0840147/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
• Instagram: lovemesomescot
• Other: I don’t have much of an interest on social media, although I am on instagram. I believe human contact is more powerful than anything.

Image Credits
Image credits: Matthew Roth and Bradford Hunter Wray