We were lucky to catch up with Natasha Ivkovic recently and have shared our conversation below.

Natasha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

The film industry is super multifaceted. There are endless branches of it that will expose you to a new skill or another version of a skill you already thought you honed. I started writing and producing films to create opportunities for myself to act, but this process led me to the edit bay, which is now a major part of my income. It didn’t occur to me that while I was self producing short films, I would be absorbing technical skills in Premier Pro and find another avenue of film making to be obsessed with. Editing really encompasses both your technical and creative brains and it’s something you can absolutely teach yourself! Youtube is filled with tutorials and making films on your own accord is more accessible than ever. Best of all, it has really impacted my acting in the most incredible way.

Natasha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m one of those annoying industry multi-hyphenates. I’m an actor who writes, who started producing and then also became an editor somewhere along the way. I started as a theatre kid in Sydney, Australia, but I always wanted my focus to be TV/film. After spending many of my formative years on stage, I moved to the US at 18 to pursue much more than I had originally bargained for. I came here to make a living acting, but with the many changes to the entertainment industry, I realized very quickly that wasn’t really a realistic goal anymore. I’ve had many challenges, most of which have been related to immigration and generating opportunities. But I believe everything happens for a reason, and without those challenges I never would’ve started making my own projects. My films always have a comedic undertone and some kind of message. I take story telling really seriously. Having the potential to impact a viewer by teaching them a new perspective, or helping them feel seen through a character’s journey is really really important. I think ultimately this is what sets me apart from other film makers- I deeply care about my viewer and how consuming this art could change their lives. I guess this is also my greatest qualm with the industry… if something sells, they’ll keep making it with little regard for how it could affect society or art as a whole.
The last film I shot is my ‘Ode to waitressing’ I say sort of jokingly. It’s a play on West World! All the restaurant staff are robots who work there 24/7, but they think they’re artists who are only working there temporarily. It’s premiering at the Messhall Film Festival in November!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Pay them! It’s a really crazy time to be an artist- this historic strike we are in is both inspiring and concerning all at once. When you read comments saying that artists are ‘greedy’ for asking for what is fair, it’s really difficult to process. When everyone is profiting except the artists who created the art, you know something is wrong.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Collaborating with other artists! That’s my favorite thing in the whole world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/natashaivkovic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natasha_ivkovic/?hl=en

Image Credits
Tom Gault, Isabel Hainer