Education
He studied at Toi Whakaari (The New Zealand Drama School, Wellington) where he first worked with long-time friend Mark Albiston, creating a graduation short film.
He studied at Toi Whakaari (The New Zealand Drama School, Wellington) where he first worked with long-time friend Mark Albiston, creating a graduation short film.
After creating the award winning short films Run (2007) and The Six Dollar Fifty Manitoba (2009), the duo co-directed their award-winning debut feature Shopping (2013). Sutherland worked as an actor on a number of feature film projects King Kong and Black Sheep as well as television projects including the acclaimed television drama The Insider’s Guide to Love. In 2007, Sutherland wrote and starred in the Cannes Festival award-winning piece Run.
Sutherland later partnered with Mark Albiston under the directing banner Mark & Louis, to create their follow up short film The Six Dollar Fifty Manitoba which earned Special Distinction at the 2009 Cannes Festival.
To date, it is the most successful short film for the New Zealand Commission. At the 2013 Sundance Festival Sutherland premiered Shopping, his feature film co-directorial debut with Mark Albiston.
Sutherland has increasingly focused on his burgeoning directorial career, passing up acting opportunities to pursue "Shopping." making style Sutherland"s films have been auto-biographical to an extent, based on his experiences of growing up on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand. This approach to writing and directing has given the films a "heartfelt" and honest tone, helping create "an emotional immediacy in the performances".
Sutherland has displayed a deft hand at working with children in his short and feature films, and this trait is also apparent in his commercial work for the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, Otto and others
Sutherland has detailed his process as a director, casting extensively and immersing cast in entire worlds, something he"s experienced personally as an actor. Acting ography.